Sammy’s Enoteca – Baltimore Magazine https://www.baltimoremagazine.com The Best of Baltimore Since 1907 Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:33:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-favicon-32x32.png Sammy’s Enoteca – Baltimore Magazine https://www.baltimoremagazine.com 32 32 Review: Sammy’s Enoteca https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/fooddrink/review-sammys-enoteca/ Fri, 13 Jan 2017 08:30:00 +0000 http://server2.local/BIT-SPRING/baltimoremagazine.com/html/?post_type=article&p=3882

It’s tough to get simple Italian food right in the restaurant world, a sad fact any paisan with a jones for mamma’s cooking will confirm. But when a restaurateur knows what he or she is doing, there’s nothing quite so satisfying, so comforting, so positively nostalgia-laden as a good trattoria—or, as the case may be, enoteca (which means “wine repository”).

Sam Curreri has been doing it right at Sammy’s Trattoria in Mount Vernon for 10 years, and now he’s opened a sister restaurant, er, enoteca, in Fells Point. Good news, Italophiles. His second joint, which opened in spring 2016, is the real deal, slightly more casual than the flagship but firmly rooted in the same culinary tradition: food that is unfussy and absolutely redolent of good homemade red sauce. First, let me tell you about the meatballs.

“Veal/Pork/Beef/Gorgonzola” reads the list of ingredients. These soft bombs yield easily to the fork and melt in the mouth, and they’re probably the best I’ve tasted in Baltimore. On offer as an antipasto, they’re topped lightly with tomato sauce and come three on a plate for six bucks. For the same price, you can get a ridiculously hearty bowl of creamy risotto. We tried the basil-spiked version sprinkled with pine nuts. Another winner was the burrata Caprese salad, with its massive ball of burrata sitting atop bright cherry tomatoes and arugula. Spread the cheese over the delightful slices of grilled Italian bread that arrive at the table as soon as you sit down, and that’s a meal.

Those with bigger appetites will have a hard time choosing from the list of 15 pastas—from classic carbonara to squid ink tagliatelle fra diavolo. I picked the Love Letters, a variation on Mario Batali’s homemade ravioli stuffed with mint and Parmigiano-Reggiano, here sauced with pomodoro, sausage, and mint ragù. Heavenly.

My friend, Sara, chose homemade gnocchi topped with a bolognese of boar, pork, and veal, which, upon sampling, made me vow to try every pasta on the menu. But on another visit, I opted to be prudent and ordered a beautiful fish—the red snapper francese, dusted with flour and enrobed in a lemon, white wine, and capers sauce. A chicken Calabrese was an even heartier version of cacciatora, piled with potatoes, sausage, peppers, onions, and tomatoes.

Being an enoteca, this Sammy’s has a compact but exemplary all-Italian wine list, packed with good values and available by the glass in 3- and 6-ounce pours. Our server guided us toward a lovely Puglian Primativo, but there are at least a dozen similar gems in the $30 range. Desserts, too, are really good. Even the de rigueur but often-tired tiramisù was creamy and fresh. If we had a complaint, it’s that the digs are a tad stark. But that would never stop us from coming back to Sam Curreri’s second venture. Oh, and did we mention the flatbread pizza?


SAMMY’S ENOTECA 623 S. Broadway, 443-552-1002.
HOURS Sun.-Thu. 4:30-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 4:30-11 p.m.
CUISINE Italian. PRICES Appetizers: $6-12; entrees: $14-22; desserts: $6.
ATMOSPHERE No-frills.

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]]> Open & Shut: The Bun Shop; The DockBar; Stall 11 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/fooddrink/open-shut-the-bun-shop-the-dockbar-stall-11/ Wed, 27 Apr 2016 15:15:00 +0000 https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/?p=31359 Continued]]> OPEN:

The Bun Shop: Known for its wide array of sweet and savory pastries, this artsy Mt. Vernon cafe recently expanded with a bigger location downtown. Owners Minh Vo and Andrew Bui opened their second shop—which features a 75-seat interior with comfy couches, marble floors, and gold accents—at 22 Light Street last week. From Paraguayan empanadas to Vietnamese coffee, the cafe specializes in fusing international flavors into its signature puffs, pastries, donuts, coffees, and teas. 22 Light St.

The DockBar: Just in time for the return of outdoor happy hour weather, The Boathouse Canton unveiled a new menu to be served on its attached patio, The DockBar, which opened for the season last week. Guests are invited to take in the sweeping waterfront views while sipping the restaurant’s signature Crushes and snacking on shared plates like crispy chicken sliders, prosciutto and fig flatbread, jerk chicken nachos, and grilled honey Old Bay wings. 2809 Boston St., 410-773-9795

Sammy’s Enoteca: Fans of Sammy’s Trattoria on N. Charles Street will be happy to hear that this spinoff from owner Samuel Curreri rolled out with a soft opening on the 600 block of S. Broadway in Fells Point last week. Decorated with intricate hanging lamps and sleek dark wood furniture, the restaurant will offer Boot Country specialties with a focus on small plates such as duck ravioli and squid-ink pasta. 623 S. Broadway

COMING SOON:

B-More Kitchen: A few months ago we told you about this new incubator that is slated to open in Govans this summer, providing budding food businesses with the space and tools to mass-produce their gourmet goods. Founders Eben Altmann and Jonathan Fishman recently announced B-More Kitchen’s first wave of tenants, which will include local producers Bottoms up Bagels, Happiest Little Baker, Pie Time, Wholesome Nibbles, and Trisha’s Almond Toffee, as well as Spike Gjerde’s restaurant group Foodshed, which will utilize the space to enhance its canning and baking operations. The facilities—which include a 10,000-square-foot shared commercial kitchen, a bakery, cold and dry storage, office space, and a receiving area—can accommodate upwards of 60 members at full capacity. Stay tuned for more updates. 5604 York Road

La Food Marketa: After searching far and wide in hopes of expanding, Chad Gauss has finally landed the perfect space to build a new restaurant. The acclaimed chef and co-owner of The Food Market in Hampden signed a lease to open La Food Marketa in the 3,500-square-foot space that formerly housed Bella Vista in Quarry Lake at Greenspring, a mixed-use development in Pikesville. Gauss’s new Spanglish-inspired spot will serve his takes on classic Central and South American cuisine. Come fall, the 105-seat space will see a revamped interior with custom banquettes, unique light fixtures, and a 10-seat counter facing an open kitchen. 2620 Quarry Lake Drive, Pikesville.

Smoothie King: While it might stand out like a sore thumb in the pack of locally owned restaurants that line the streets of Fells Point, this national smoothie chain will open a cozy 800-square-foot storefront on Thames Street this summer.The grab-and-go shop, which won’t have any seating, will feature all of the brand’s energy-enhancing flavors ranging from Greek Yogurt Pineapple Mango to Carrot Kale Dream. 1716 Thames St.

Stall 11: Yet-to-open Remington food hall R. House recently announced the second of 10 micro-restaurants that will set up shop in the 50,000-square-foot space when it opens its doors next fall. Chef Melanie Molinaro, formerly of Encantada, is set to open Stall 11, an upscale vegetarian concept that will serve plant-based dishes such as Korean cauliflower, sweet corn polenta with a smoked ragu, baby kale and black garlic Caesar salad, black bean brownies, and vegan cookies. Molinaro will also partner with the urban agriculture experts at Urban Pastoral to set up an on-the-go case with fresh greens and herbs, non-pasteurized tonics, and live culture yogurts. 301 W. 29th St., 443-347-3570

SHUT:

Playoff Sports Bar & Grill: This Reisterstown dive bar, which was known for its pub grub, weekly drink specials, and trivia nights, shuttered its doors last week for reasons that are still unknown. Multiple calls to the restaurant were not immediately returned. 11706 Reisterstown Road, Reisterstown

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