The Essence of Restaurant Week
6300 Georgetown Boulevard
Eldersburg, MD 21784
410-781-4114
I have hesitated to dive into Restaurant Week Carroll
County because I have the impression that many of the restaurants participating seem to have been
forced into doing so – their special menu’s offer no insight into what the
restaurants have to offer on a regular basis; they offer reduced portion sizes;
and generally there is little incentive beyond the $25.12 dinner price to
entice me to stay local. Frankly, a 4 ounce serving of salmon or a miniature filet
mignon is typical of many Restaurant Week menus and neither are much of a statement about
a kitchen’s capabilities other than to say how uninventive they are.
One Westminster eatery offers two entrees for the $25.00
dinner price as if to say we can’t cook anything well but we can give you a lot
of it. This is an example of Carroll County appealing to the bottom of the
culinary barrel and those who revel in it. This category of diners are in a class of their
own as they continue to mourn the passing of the cattle trough of food they could munch
through at Cactus Willies. Fine dining establishments in Carroll have a history - of failure.
Such is not a fair indictment of all of the restaurants
in Carroll County because there are a few who do understand what Restaurant Week
is all about beyond filling their dining rooms in an off month. Liberatore’s in
Eldersburg is a perfect example of a restaurant that gets it – they could teach
a lot of the restaurants in Baltimore quite a bit about how to do things right.
Although we have
lived in Carroll for almost 40 years now we’ve never dined at this Liberatore’s
and the lunchtime buffet experience I had at their Westminster location wasn’t a fair example of what the kitchen is
capable of. Shame on us because we’ve been missing out on some very well
prepared Italian dishes only 15 minutes from Finksburg. I was lured to Liberatore’s
by the Carroll County Times article announcing Restaurant week here. Dante
Liberatore’s comments in that article and some snapshots of the dishes from the
regular menu convinced me that we had to consider this local restaurant for a
spin. Visiting the restaurant’s web site and looking over the week’s special
menu closed the deal – the menu offered no fewer than five appetizer choices
and ten entrees, plus desserts. The menu has a listing of many suggested affordable
wines by the glass.
Liberatore’s is a family run operation with five locations,
two in Carroll, so I was really surprised that we were greeted by one of the
owners, Dante Liberatore, as our maîtres’d. The restaurant and bar area were
packed and there was a small delay waiting for our table – those who arrived
without reservations were politely told the wait would be ½ an hour. Our short wait
gave me a chance to discuss Restaurant Week briefly with Dante – he’s a hard
man to hold still as he is all over the place helping his staff with getting
dinners out promptly and making sure that every guest is welcomed. Dante works
the rooms like a pro making every diner feel special and it was obvious that
many of the tables were full of regular patrons. He’s a ball of energy and the epitome of a
good restaurateur.
Calamari is a good test of an Italian restaurant for me. It’s
easy to goof up (frequently is) and can be either wonderful or a choice between a soggy mess or an over –
cooked blob of deep fried breaded something. We travel to Filomena’s in
Georgetown just for the calamari that has soaked overnight in buttermilk to
soften it and remove any fishy taste. By golly, Liberatore’s calamari might be
just as good – tender, lightly battered and cooked perfectly. Dante’s not
giving away his chef’s secret to it but that have it nailed perfectly and the
serving really is ample for two to share. I also ordered the bruschetta which
had nice, firm chopped fresh tomatoes and was lightly seasoned. At this point I
began to feel guilty about eating so much of the good, crusty bread that was
served promptly on our seating.
Our server, whose name I regrettably did not get, was knowledgeable and
on top of things. He explained how some of the entrees were prepared and was
obviously not an apprentice to the job. Debbie selected perhaps the least
challenging entrée, the Chicken Parmigiana; I decided on a house specialty, the
Tortellacchi Pizzaoli. The Chicken was a very large portion of two breast
slices in a chunky tomato and onion sauce; accompanied by a side of spaghetti in
a Marinara. This was real chicken, not the mushy stuff served up between two
rolls at a franchise food joint. The same delicious sauce also accompanied my entrée
which I can best describe as homemade, oversized tortellini pasta hats stuffed
with chopped veal and beef. It was quite good and a nice diversion from the
usual special menu fare. Both dishes are on the regular menu so they were good
examples of this kitchen's use of Restaurant Week to put its best face
forward.
The regular wine list at Liberatore’s is limited by
comparison to those which offer a book with hundreds of listings. As I simply cannot
eat Italian cuisine without wine I decided on a unique bottle from the renown
Masi Vineyards. For a restaurant-reasonable price, we tried the ’08 Campofiorin
Rosso del Veronese, which is a full bodied, fruity wine from Veneto that I
thought resembled an Amarone. I hope to find some in a local liquor store as
this wine is just as I like them, big and reasonably priced.
Our dinner and our dining experience was a success thanks to
a solid kitchen and masterful host. Dress is very casual for most although I do
believe Dante may balk if you don’t have a shirt on. Too bad only three people in all of Carroll
County have suit jackets but at least there is a wide variety of T shirts even
if few bother to tuck them into their trousers.
The prices on the regular menu are very reasonable and the
Restaurant Week fare is a true bargain so we will surely be back to Liberatore’s
many times in the future to explore the many offerings on their menu. Buon
Appetito!
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