Taste

Taste
510 E. Belvedere Ave.
Belvedere Square, Baltimore
443-278-9001
Eclectic
www.tasterestaurant.biz
Cost: $$$
Reservations: Not Needed
Date of meal: weekday week of August 8, 2007
National Price-Quality Frontier: Inside It
Baltimore Price-Quality Frontier: Inside It

We went to Taste the week after restaurant week. I saw an offer for a $25 gift certificate in the Baltimore Urbanite. When I called for reservations on the same day we came in, they told me that they weren't honoring their offer because they were extending restaurant week. Restaurant week is probably as good of a deal as this offer, but it doesn't seem cool (or perhaps legal?) not to honor their offer. Nothing in the ad mentioned these limitations. When we arrived, the place was nearly empty. They didn't have our reservation on file, which didn't matter under the circumstances but didn't bode well.

Their restaurant week options were quite extensive. Typically, restaurant week options at pricier restaurants are limited and lame. I was impressed that they were basically offering a full menu to choose from. I was also surprised because the Baltimore Restaurant Week website had a limited menu for Taste.

The decor is really swanky. It's quiet, romantic, sophisticated, and with the right chef could make for a great restaurant. Service was well-intentioned but a bit spotty.

The food was disappointing. Nothing horrible, but not really memorable. I had the salmon on a maple slab, which was dry and the fish wasn't good quality. My spouse had a salad with steak on it. It was also lame, though I think this probably was not the best possible choice. That I don't remember what we had as appetizers or dessert probably tells you something.

I wouldn't come back here without a compelling reason, but wouldn't make a fuss if a friend suggested we go there. The decor is nice enough that perhaps it warrants another try. Restaurant week fare is seldom representative. Petit Louis seems far superior if you want a nice $20 entree restaurant in that general neck of the woods.