So, I had this dream that Gordon Ramsay came to Baltimore to hang out with me and eat with ME because I wrote to him in one of my posts. Specifically a post about a little Italian restaurant that we LOVE, Brendali Italian Ristorante.
Strange dream, but I decided to go ahead and do it, you know, just in case. So Gordon? Chef? Mr. Ramsay? If you're reading this, could you please come to Baltimore, and eat delicious Italian food with me? Thanks.
Honestly, I don't quite know how I got this far without making more of a fuss here on SD&S about Brendali Italian Risotrante, located at 1022 Light St, Baltimore, MD 21230, just a hop, skip and a jump away from where we live in Federal Hill.
Literally, it's about a 7 minute walk, and it has become one of our absolute favorite places to go out to eat AND to OrderUp!
Why? It's AMAZING. Every. Single. Time. This tiny little store front with only a smattering of tables is always jam-packed, so be sure to get a reservation before heading out on a weekend night. And also, a huge bonus is that it's not only a great date-night spot, girls' night out, or even dude's night out place, but it's great for our whole family. Yep! Even the baby is happy there, and they're happy having him.
It's packed because it's special. The food is exquisite. It's BYOB, which is fun, and the food... OH the food. Did I mention the food?
When we OrderUp, we pretty much always get the same thing. For Michael, the shrimp alfredo cooked with red pepper flakes to spice it up, for Major, the kid's portion of spaghetti with sausage, and for me, the always sensational shrimp fra diavlo, yummy shrimp and linguini tossed in a spicy tomato sauce.
There's little better than that spicy, ultra flavor-packed fra diavlo, and there's hardly any change in our order. Even when we eat in. The only real difference is that we also get the lemon-garlic mussels, which we have acutally dubbed "best mussels," and Major gets a small portion of chicken alfredo.
Yes, I still get the fra diavlo after promise after promise of trying something new, which I never do... And Michael also enjoys their Fettuccine Bianco which is basically sauteed shrimp and tender bay scallops tossed in an old bay cream sauce served over a bed of fettuccine.
But last night, I actually ventured outside my fra diavlo box and got the penne vodka, which was absolutely sensational. Yeah, they know what they're doing, and I will go ahead and say it. Brendali's has our favorite Italian in the city.
Plus, the service is awesome. Quick shout out to Maddie, who is super knowledgable, and is so helpful with any and everything regarding your experience at Brendali's. She always makes sure everything's just as you want it.
So here's my big virtual hug to Brendali Italian Ristorante, for being so dang good every dang time.
Side Note: Please excuse the photos. Brendali's has "mood lighting," which isn't the best for food photography. But trust. The food is just as appetizing to the eyes as it is to the mouth.
