Gertrude's

Gertrude's
10 Art Museum Dr.
Charles Village, Baltimore
410-889-3399
Traditional American
www.gertrudesbaltimore.com
Cost: $$$
Reservations: Recommended
Date of meal: various (lunch)
National Price-Quality Frontier: Inside It
Baltimore Price-Quality Frontier: On It

I've been to Gertrude's twice for lunch. If ever a place was aptly named, it is Gertrude's. This was my late paternal grandmother's first name, and she would have loved the place. It's attached to the Baltimore Museum of Art. You will find it filled with middle-aged and elderly women who go there in connection with museum trips. At lunch it has more than its fair share of Johns Hopkins' senior administrators.

Gertrude's is not interesting, hip, cool, trendy, or dynamic. It doesn't try to be. It is quiet and serene. The outdoor space is pleasant and the indoors have excellent but cool (as opposed to warm or bright, not cool as in hip) natural light. Dishes are well-prepared with quality ingredients from a menu that could not be more predictable. Lunches include a variety of sandwiches and crab cakes. I have ordered these twice, and enjoyed them quite a lot. They let the crab do the talking and go easy on other fillers.

It would not occur to me to come here for a date, an anniversary, or a birthday party for anyone under 40 chronologically or under 50 at heart. I would absolutely take my parents or my surviving grandparents. I would do a work dinner, or better yet lunch, where I wanted to talk seriously without interruption. It's the kind of place where no one would think it odd to pull out paperwork and go over it will a colleague if you were both wearing professional clothing.

The punch line is that for the right occasion Gertrude's is perfect. I'm just trying to minimize the frequency of these occasions.