March 9th of 2015 marked the first ever Secret Supper event put on by The Baltimore Sun. It would be the start of something great, something exciting, and something to look forward to throughout the year.
It's no longer a secret that the Baltimore Sun restaurant tour offers delicious surprises, but if this is your first time hearing about The Baltimore Sun's Secret Supper, let me fill you in. With the exciting news of Baltimore becoming one of The United States' premiere cities for great food, actually coming in number 2 in Zagat's top food cities in 2015, the folks at The Sun decided to introduce the people of this great city to some of the best, most appealing and interesting restaurants in Charm City.
They scoured Baltimore City to find 2016's outstanding restaurants and hand selected their favorites to host their Secret Supper series. Yes. It's a series, and each all-inclusive ticket that gets you a specialty cocktail, a 4-course meal and expert wine pairings, will only set you back $99. That's a huge bargain if you ask me.
The 4-part series curated by The Baltimore Sun invites us all to experience an extraordinary menu at one of the city's top restaurants. They just can't tell you where...yet! And in my opinion, that's the best part. And yeah, maybe it's also the hand-crafted cocktail, the four-course drool-worthy meal and the expert wine pairings, but let me say, the whole build up and anticipation waiting to find out WHERE we would be dining was extra fun.
Check out this quick video on the series, starring yours truly and yours truly's husband!
So on March 9th, the first installment of The Secret Supper was announced via email around 8 a.m., and we learned we'd be enjoying a meal at none other than Chef Bryan Voltaggio's fine dining restaurant, AGGIO, located on Water St., close to The Inner Harbor.
I died. If you know me, you know I absolutely love the Voltaggio brothers, and avidly followed the two of them on season 6 of Top Chef in Las Vegas. Obsessed. So to say that I was excited beyond measure to get all dolled up and enjoy a beautiful Italian meal with my husband for a REAL DATE NIGHT, at a place that I'd been dying to go, would be a serious understatement.
And each morning-of for the next 3 Secret Suppers after, I knew I wasn't alone in sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting to discover the next stop in our supper sequence. And each time, I was surprised, excited, intrigued, and eagerly awaited the time when our babysitter would arrive so we could go and enjoy the much needed shake-up to our routine.
As a relatively new Baltimorean, Michael and I haven't ventured too far out of our Federal Hill bubble. But I feel like that may be the case, even for lifetime Charm City-dwellers. Baltimore is known for being a very neighborhood-centric city, so it probably wouldn't be too far to venture that many people stay within their neighborhood boundaries.
Why? Every neighborhood, for the most part, has everything you'd ever need. There's really no reason to leave, so with the Secret Supper, we were able to see more of the Power Plant/Harbor area with our visit to AGGIO, actually leave the city and visit Towson for the Cunningham's dinner, stay within our Federal Hill comfort zone with an evening at Wine Market Bistro, and finally explore what's to our north with the meal at Birroteca. It was fun not only because we'd never been to these neighborhoods, with the exception of our own, but it was exciting getting to get out of our comfort zone and go somewhere new and different.
2. You'll be able to dine at restaurants you may not have had the chance to otherwise, and eat some seriously good food while you're there.
I know for us, we'd probably never have had the opportunity to venture out to Woodberry for some seriously interesting, delicious and memorable food at Birroteca if it weren't' for this series. I also know I'd never be able to justify a beautiful night out at the acclaimed AGGIO. Not only because we're parents of two children, but just schedules and LIFE prevent my husband and I from getting out and having a real date night, doing something for us that doesn't revolve around the fact that we need a place that has a hot dog or chicken fingers. Cunningham's and Wine Market Bistro weren't even on our radars before the Secret Supper, and I'm so glad we've been introduced.
I've had some of the most extraordinary dishes at these establishments, and sometimes, I even catch myself thinking about them. Pathetic? I don't think so.
The Creste di Gallo from AGGIO, a red wine pasta shaped like the crest of a rooster, with chicken sausage, swiss chard and a sous vide style soft egg flat out stunned me. It was jaw-droopingly amazing, and I would do anything to have another bowl of that set in front of me right now.
The Snapper & Scallop ceviche from Cunningham's was served with lime and tomato water, chilies, green tomato and chamomile. It was actual art. But the flavor? The FLAVOR! The scallops were like butter; So creamy, smooth and sweet. The snapper was silky and both the snapper and the scallop packed a beautifully bright punch as a result of the chilies and the lime. The cilantro added a note of sunshine, and the chamomile flowers a soft beautiful touch.
The Chilled Corn Gazpacho with queso fresco, lime oil, and golden cherry tomatoes from Wine Market Bistro was luxurious, velvety smooth and quite striking. The sweet corn flavor carried throughout, and each bite would lure you to the next. If a soup could be seductive, this was it. It was simply put, sensational.
The Seared Rockfish dish with kale fredo, pine nut farrotto, pancetta from Birroteca was overwhelming. What overwhelmed me with excitement even more than the huge portion size, was the bomb of flavor that went off in my mouth with each element, and each bite. I was floored by the kale fredo. It was a beautifully balanced, yet flavor-packed creamy sauce that I wanted to take home and then bathe in. I wanted a thermos of it, so that I could have it whenever I wanted, which is all the time. I know the fish is supposed to be the star of the dish, but I also fell head over heels in love with the pine nut farrotto. If you know risotto, you know farrotto. It's basically the same but instead of rice, it's farro, and where risotto is silky and light, farrotto is strong and rugged, with a big punch of wheat. It was sensational! So with my thermos of kale fredo, I'd also like a to-go container full to the top of that farrotto. Please, and thank you. Yes, the fish was great.It was tasty, well seasoned and partnered with one of the greatest sides and one of the greatest sauces I've ever had. Yum, yum.
The Secret Supper created an adventure for our palettes, and an adventure around Baltimore, and to me, that's priceless.
3. You'll meet people you'd never probably meet, and make lasting friendships in the process.
The most unanticipated thing about the Secret Supper was the relationships created. When we arrived at AGGIO for our first supper, Michael and I were surprised to find that we'd be seated with several other couples, rather than at a solo table. At first, we were thrown off, but by the time we sat down and introduced ourselves, it was a different story. We met several amazing people, from doctors to teachers to musicians and everything in between. We laughed, talked, and engaged in a way with people who started the meal as strangers and ended as friends.
This was the same story for each of the four suppers, and the cool part was seeing some of our new friends at each of the different suppers, and getting the chance to reconnect after a couple of months without seeing one another. Food really connects people, and can bring friendships out of the dark. This is probably one of my favorite things about this series.
4. You'll shake up your routine, and add some spice to your week.
I don't know about you, but my life can become rather mundane and tiresome. I'm not saying that what I do day in and day out isn't beautiful. Raising 2 boys and being able to be with them is a huge blessing that I don't take for granted, but as in any routine, things can become a bit stale.
I crave getting out, without sticky fingers reaching for me every 3 seconds, hearing "Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!" every 2 minutes, and lugging a million-pound diaper bag around. I crave time with my husband, alone. And thanks to The Secret Supper, not only do we get the chance to get out together for a REAL date night, but we also get the element of spontaneity and surprise.
The whole concept of not knowing what you're doing that night, where you're going is exciting. It really adds some mystery and excitement to the sameness of every day. I find the element of surprise to be one of the more appealing aspects of this whole series, and something that I look forward to in 2017.
So with the close of 2016 and the final installment of the Secret Supper behind us, I am now looking forward to what the folks at The Baltimore Sun have in store for us next year. There's already a date set for the first installment of the Secret Supper series of 2017! I'm so excited, and I hope you are too. Get ready for Wednesday, February 08, 2017 from 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM. Where do you think it'll be? Frankly, I have no idea, and I am truly surprised each and every time. I look forward to seeing you there, wherever THERE is!
Price: $99/ all inclusive ticket - get your tickets here!
Date & Time: Wednesday, February 08, 2017 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Place: We don't know... yet!
