MELI - May 30th, 2011

Meli Patisserie & Bistro, located at 1636 Thames Street in Fells Point, was opened in 2009 as part of Kali's Restaurant group (Kali's Court, Mezze, Meli, & Adela).  It was named BEST NEW RESTAURANT 2011 - BALTIMORE MAGAZINE, and TOP 10 of BALTIMORE'S 67 BEST RESTAURANTS 2011 - BALTIMORE MAGAZINE.  It is advertised as an American Bistro, although the word MELI is Greek for honey.  Per the website, honey is used in almost all of the dishes to add a little sweetness to the food as well as some of the bar's drinks.  The executive chef, Rashad Edwards, is a born & raised Baltimorian who attained his Culinary Degree at the Baltimore International College in downtown Baltimore.  His bio on the website says he has been in the field for about 10 years & with Kali's Restaurant Group for the past 6 years.


Pulling up to the restaurant I was glad to see they had Valet Parking.  If any of you have been down to Fells Point, especially in the spring, summer, or fall, you will know it is impossible to park.  If you do get lucky & find a spot, you will then be subject to a $2/hour cost which will probably need to be re-paid every hour to avoid a parking ticket!  As the valet opens our doors for us he tells us there is a $5 Valet cost.  While upsetting as this is to me, the $5 cost is more than worth it to avoid driving around for 30 minutes searching for a spot and then have to pay $6 for roughly about 3 hours of protection to eat dinner.

When you first walk in the bar is located in the front.  It is quite small when compared to the size of the restaurant, but is very modern & stylish for todays day & age.  The restaurant is 2 floors with the kitchen located on the bottom floor.  We met up with my best friend Henry & his sister Sheila for dinner (they are my wife's cousins).  They were already seated when we arrived & had already ordered some appetizers.  The Menu is fairly simple, upscale, & minimal.  Minimal being a big plus unlike some other restaurants that offer 100 different choices for each course, making it almost impossible to decide what to eat!  The other really cool thing about the menu is it changes on almost a daily basis.  While the main ingredient usually stays the same, the way it is prepared or the accompaniments usually change per the chef's taste.  One unusual thing the restaurant does is when they give you a glass of water, it will come without ice unless you ask.  They will not ask you.  This is one of the only negatives I have about the restaurant.

The appetizers Henry & Sheila ordered for us were amazing!  We had the Creekstone Farms Beef Tartare (raw beef), the Escargot & Mushrooms, & the House Charcuterie (pork variety dish).  The Charcuterie had American Prosciutto, Pork Pate (Liver), & Pork Liver Mousse, all accompanied with pickled mustard seed, pickled asparagus, bread & butter pickle chips, & toasted french bread slices.   I have to say this was my least favorite of the 3 as I only liked the prosciutto & pickle chips.  The Escargot & Mushrooms were excellent.  They were accompanied with slices of blood sausage & shaved fennel.  The dish had a nice amount of garlic, the mushrooms had a nice earthy flavor, & the fennel added a nice refreshing taste to the dish.  The Beef Tartar was definitely my favorite.  It was mixed w/ capers, onions, & a little truffle oil and was accompanied with toasted french bread slices & topped with a sunnyside up egg yolk.  It had a nice smokey flavor accentuated by the crisp capers, runny egg yolk & crunchy french bread.  It is definitely one of the best appetizers I have ever had.

For dinner Henry, Sheila, & myself had our eyes set on the Pan Roasted Veal Breast served w/ honey pearl onions, strawberry balsamic, & new potatoes.  Unfortunately after she took our order she came back to our table with the upsetting news that they were out of the Veal.  It was as if I was riding a Hot Air Balloon over the most beautiful place on earth & here she comes with a huge needle & pokes a hole in the balloon.  After pouting a little bit (I was really looking forward to Veal), Henry & myself switched to the Steak Frites which my wife had ordered as her dinner as well.  Sheila switched to the Oyster & Mushroom Fettuccine.  The steak came out cooked to a perfect medium rare for all three of our orders.  It had a very nice sear on the outside, was served over pan sauteed wild mushrooms, & just melted in your mouth like warm butter on a stack of hot pancakes!  It was served with skin-on shoestring french fries & a beet puree.  The steak had a nice flavor with a hint of spice to it.  The mushrooms again had a very earthy taste that complimented the beef perfectly.  The french fries had a great natural potato flavor.  The beet puree tasted a little to earthy for me.  It was sweet but tasted like it was made with real dirt & grass.  Not a taste I like!  One thing that put this restaurant into great standing was a side dish they made for us to order.  We saw the table next to us had an order of mac & cheese (not on the menu).  Henry & Sheila asked if the chef could make us an order but infuse it with truffle oil.  The chef more than obliged us & we were served with a very creamy 5 cheese blend mac & cheese.  While it was very good, I do think the gruyere cheese was a little over powering for my taste.

All in all the meal was very delicious.  Other than a few negatives (i.e the water/ice situation, the pork pate & mousse liver, running out of Veal), the overall experience was above average.  There was an issue of the temperature in the dining room (old couple asked to turn the air off due to being to cold, which caused us to be very warm & a little uncomfortable), it was taken care of promptly after we brought it up.  The service was good, the food was delicious, & the price was fair for the quality of the food.  I would definitely give MELI an 8 out of 10 & recommend all of you to stop by to eat if you get the chance. I know I will be eating there again!