wine bars – Baltimore Magazine

Self-Serve Wine Bar Opens in Locust Point Next Month

Lauren Cohen — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 13:04:11 +0000

There’s something sacred about the traditional way of ordering a drink across the bar, but the modernized self-serve method—which has surfaced in larger cities like New York and Washington, D.C.—has its perks, too.

At Serenity Wine Bar, the new Locust Point hangout opening in the former Our House space off of Hull Street next month, owner Nneka Bilal is hoping to find a sweet spot between the two. In addition to classic bar and table service, Serenity will offer 16 pour-your-own wine taps that patrons can access using a reloadable swipe card.

“It’s kind of like a Dave & Buster’s system,” Bilal explains. “You purchase a card and load money onto it. Then you can go up to the screen, swipe your card, and choose if you want a small pour to taste, or a full glass.”

Highlighting many different blends—ranging from dry to sweet, red to white, local to international—the taps created by North Carolina-based Napa Technology are meant to offer something for everyone. Bilal hopes that the system encourages sampling and mingling between wine beginners and seasoned oenophiles alike.

“There’s such a social aspect to it,” she says, referencing her own experiences at self-serve spots in D.C. “It’s not very intimidating. You’re up there with strangers and talking to people about the wine—what you like and what you don’t like. It’s a really friendly experience.”

The idea is for Serenity to fill the neighborhood-corner-bar void that Our House left behind, and a huge part of creating that atmosphere revolves around the food.

After working at a pizza restaurant for 23 years, Bilal, a Howard County native, was pleasantly surprised to find that the space was equipped with its own pizza oven. She wants the menu to center around her own roster of made-to-order pies, as well as wings, sandwiches, salads, and pastas. Aside from the pour-yourself wine, the spot will also offer house-made sangria and a selection of draft and bottled beers.

In keeping with its name, the 75-seat space will have a casual feel with a mix of coffee tables, high-tops, bar seating, and long benches. Bilal is also planning to arrange black-and-white photographs of Baltimore to make the space feel hyper-local.

“I wanted to highlight the city, but also make it feel really cozy,” she says. “The space was pretty turnkey, it just needed a little bit of love. I want it to feel like a home away from home”

Though the DIY tap trend has taken root in Baltimore County (think spots like B.C. Brewery in Hunt Valley and Liquid Lib’s in Timonium), Bilal is excited about being one of the first places to offer the of-the-moment technology within city limits.

“It reflects a change in the times,” she says. “Sometimes when you sit down at a crowded bar, you have to wait for somebody to notice you. But here, everyone can just come in, get started, and do their own thing.”

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Review: CuVino

Jess Mayhugh — Fri, 15 Jan 2016 08:30:00 +0000

Simplicity has its charms, and sometimes the weary restaurant reviewer, having gorged for months on fine and fancy foods, wants nothing more than to succumb to simple pleasures. At such times, I crave a place where there are no wildly inventive dishes or highly touted exotica on the menu, no hipster digs lined with gleaming surfaces or baroque décor, and where there’s no need to care whether I’m wearing the right brand of jeans. The food is straightforward and good in my fantasy restaurant, and so is the waitstaff. It happens to feature the cuisine of my childhood—say, the kind you’d find in an Italian kitchen—and tastes like grandma’s, i.e., mine. And, as long as I’m dreaming, this down-home trattoria also offers, without much fanfare, one of the best Italian wine lists in the region.

CuVino happens to be just that kind of place. The only problem is, it’s in Timonium and not in my neighborhood—but, hey, that’s what cars and cheap gas are for. Tucked away in a suburban strip mall, where one often discovers such off-the-beaten-path gems, the restaurant previously housed a doctor’s office, all traces of which have been banished by owners Angelo and Ralph DiBiasi.

The space has been transformed into a bright and cheerful homespun place with tiles on the floor and brick-red tabletops—a bit noisy in the front by the bar, a little cozier and quieter in the back, where booths and tables host families and first-daters. A wall of wine racks holding bottles from every region of Italy—from Alto Adige to Sardinia—announces that the trattoria is also a wine store.

The brothers DiBiasi have modeled their menu on the stuff Italian-American families put on the table when they gather for traditional Sunday dinner: plates of eggplant Parmigiana and lasagna, veal saltimbocca, and homemade gnocchi with peas.

The menu has been modeled after the stuff Italian-Americans put on the table when they gather for Sunday dinner.

It all sounds very standard-issue, but the tastes are vivid and well executed in a way that gives credence to that highly overused word, authentic. Take, for example, CuVino’s simple bowl of grilled calamari, whose tendrils of toothsome squid are perfectly cooked, doused in sea salt and good olive oil, and showered with capers. It’s an unfussy approach that carries over to other antipasti, like the humble, yet hearty, bruschetta—nothing but slices of sweet, fresh tomatoes, and fresh ricotta on a sturdy homemade slab of rustic Italian bread—or a plate of lightly fried, crisp potato croquettes stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto.

The entrees are similarly basic and beautiful. A long slide of lasagna is composed of nothing but a dense meat sauce nestled between sheets of house-made translucent pasta smothered in lots and lots of melting cheese. The Bolognese clinging to a mound of bucatini is precisely as it should be—rich with meat, a touch of cream, and just the right amount of tomato.

You know you’ve found a truly decent Italian-American place when the chef refuses to commit the near-ubiquitous sins of so many red-sauce joints: too much sauce on the pasta and too much sugary tomato paste in the sauce. Here, the marinara is made with bright red cherry tomatoes, and the linguini with white-clam sauce comes dotted with juicy specimens in the shell. The meatballs are soft, pillowy orbs that melt in the mouth. No shortcuts, no cans. My absolute favorite? The “Autunno” rigatoni laced with homemade ground Italian sausage, wild mushrooms, and thyme in a prosecco-based wine sauce.

Plenty of customers are coming in just to grab a pizza and a bottle of wine to go, but it’s not a bad idea to simply hunker down with a large pie—there are thin-crust New York-style pizzas and thick-crusted Sicilian ones—and concentrate on that deeply impressive roster of wines. A shrimp limoncello thin-crust pizza spiked with lemon zest, garlic, and spinach went beautifully with an austere Vernaccia di San Gimignano, one of about 30 choices on CuVino’s $25 list. That’s the tip of the proverbial iceberg—if you’ve ever had a notion to master the complexities of Italian wine, this is the place to go to school.

Dessert is not my favorite part of an Italian meal, but I gave in to the wishes of my dinner partner and ordered the perennially popular tiramisu. It was a delicate and creamy wedge of goodness, about what you’d expect from a place that seems to make nearly everything with great care. Next time this weary food critic tires of the ornate and the overly trendy, I’m heading to Timonium.

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Liberatore’s to Open Two New Restaurants

Jess Mayhugh — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Liberatore’s, which operates five Italian restaurants in the area, will unveil two new concepts in November—a wine bar in Timonium and a steakhouse/raw bar in Perry Hall.

The wine bar, to be called Liquid Lib’s, adjoins the Liberatore’s on Deereco Road in Timonium. It will feature state-of-the-art wine-dispensing machines, 300-400 types of wine, and 24 wines by the glass as well as tapas and pizza.

The small-plates menu will include empanadas, arancini, sushi, meatballs, fish tacos, and an antipasto selection of cured meats, cheeses, and olives. The 10-inch individual, brick-oven pizzas will be prepared at a pizza bar with seating.

Prices are expected to be under $12 a plate.

Owner John Liberatore said he got the idea from going to Liquid Assets, a popular wine bar in Ocean City. “It’s good fun,” he said, as he gave me a tour of the new addition today. “I love the concept.”

Customers will also be able to select a bottle of wine at retail prices from shelves around the restaurant, either to be imbibed there for a $10 corkage fee or to be taken home. In addition to wine, the restaurant will serve craft beers on draft and beers by the bottle.

The surroundings will be impressive when complete. The wine barrels, pictured, will be turned into bar tables with stools, a communal table will be made from rough-hewn wood; and the main bar will be topped with a crystal-like slab of 1 ½-inch glass that will reflect colored LED lights underneath it.

A fireplace with sofas and big-screen TVs will also complement the spot.

In Perry Hall, the longtime restaurateurs took over the empty Manhattan Grill in Honeygo Village and are turning the space into a steakhouse and raw bar. It will be called Lib’s Grill. “There isn’t anything like it in the area,” John said.

Liquid Lib’s is scheduled to open November 25. Lib’s Grill is expected to open around the same time.

The Liberatore family opened their first eponymous restaurant in Eldersburg 25 years ago.

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Bistro Rx opens in Patterson Park

Jess Mayhugh — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0000

The location at the corner of Baltimore Street and Linwood Avenue has been empty since last December. But, last night the space was packed with people, as Bistro Rx opened its doors. The new bar/restaurant (with a name paying homage to the former Block’s Pharmacy location) is being opened by Wayne Mahaffey, known for his eponymous Canton beer bar.

Businesses at this location have certainly struggled in the past, which is kind of a shock considering it’s in an up-and-coming neighborhood, on the corner of two main thoroughfares, and across from bustling Patterson Park. But all of the mechanics of a restaurant/bar—management, chefs, menus, prices—have to work for it, too.

But, if last night’s turnout was any indication, the neighborhood is ready to welcome a new business. The place was packed inside and out from 6 p.m. on. The overall structure of the place (and pharmacy-style layout) is still intact. But, there are some changes—the walls are a smoky blue-gray, wine racks were added, and the bar area is darker. The new image matches what Mahaffey is trying to create: a wine-centric bistro with a coordinating menu.

The place was incredibly organized for an opening night. The service was stellar and there were separate food, wine, and beer menus available. The food menu looks great, with most options in the $7-10 range, entrees a little pricier (most expensive dish was surf and turf for $25), vegetarian-friendly options, and a kids’ section (very smart for the family-friendly area). Additionally, Bistro Rx is open on Saturdays for lunch and Sundays for brunch.

The wine menu includes 20 options by the glass (which you can also get by the bottle) and an additional 40 bottle choices. Bistro’s happy hour is from 4-7 p.m., which includes $3 off wine bottles and $1 off everything else.

And, for anyone that knows anything about Mahaffey’s, it comes as no surprise that the beer selection was on-point. There are 24 bottles available, like Lindemans Framboise Lambic, Chimay White, and Westmalle Triple. The menu included local selections, like Flying Dog Pale, Dogfish Head 90 Minute, and Loose Cannon. There were also seasonal beers on tap, like Paulaner Oktoberfest and Cape Ann Fishermans Pumpkin Stout. Most drafts were $5.

By 10:30, the place was still packed, which is an indication that the neighborhood is excited to have something back on the corner. The question is, will it suffer the same fate as its former tenants, Parkside and Three? I’m optimistic for a couple of reasons.

The prices are right ($9 burger with fries) and, in this neighborhood, it’s key to keep your prices reasonable and be sure it’s affordable for everyone. Also, the Mahaffey name is going to be huge. He’s a proven, successful bar owner, and Bistro Rx might attract customers up from Canton. Plus, wine bars are all the rage these days (see the success of 13.5 and Vino Rosina), so their finger is on the pulse. With all of these factors combined, Bistro Rx might finally be able to break the curse.

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Vino Rosina opening

Jess Mayhugh — Tue, 18 May 2010 10:30:00 +0000

Last night I attended the grand opening of new Harbor East wine bar Vino Rosina—an offshoot of the popular sandwich shop Rosina Gourmet. The space is gorgeous, which is no surprise, considering the architect behind it also designed Woodberry Kitchen. In that same vein, the restaurant (housed in the old Bagby Furniture Building) has a very industrial feel, with exposed brick, visible ceiling ducts, and an open kitchen. The front third of the space houses a large squared-shaped bar and the back has various dining tables and a private dining area. The front and back are separated by tall, wooden wine racks.

Attendees got to sample some appetizers and sparkling white wine as they took in the feel of the new wine bar. The wait staff, each donning a pair of black chucks, was very attentive in handing out starters like bacon-wrapped asparagus, basil-covered strawberries, and tuna tartare salads. They were also charcuterie platters on each of the dining tables in the back. Rosina Gourmet style mini-sandwiches (like roast beef and roasted red pepper) were also being served.

I got to peek at the beer and wine lists, which were very impressive. There were four beers on tap (including Mama’s Little Yella Pils for $5.95) and two-dozen bottles to choose from (everything from White Hitachino Ale to Abita Light). The two-page long wine list was even more impressive, offering wine in 3 ounces, 6 ounces, or bottles. The bottles ranged from $16-55 and were organized by region. There was also a list of six $12 martinis on the menu, with curious names like “Strawberry Basil Rhubarb” and “The Dirtiest.”

Last night, executive chef Jesse Sandlin, pictured, (of Abacrombie and Top Chef fame) was running in and out of the kitchen serving food, always with a smile on her face. Part of that could have been that fellow Top Chef contestant Mike Isabella (executive chef at Zaytinya in D.C.) was in attendance giving his support. Isabella and his friends were sitting at one of the back tables, as Sandlin brought them plate after plate of food. They seemed happy to get the chance to catch up.

I see no reason why a wine bar in Harbor East (in a great Bagby Building location) with a remarkably talented chef won’t do well. The staff was overly attentive, the food was excellent, and the drink selections were anything but run-of-the-mill.

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New Hampden wine bar

Jess Mayhugh — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:00:00 +0000

It seems like wine bars are popping up all over the city. Grand Cru was definitely the pioneer, opening in November 2003. But now the Belvedere Square staple has some company.

In September of last year, V-NO (pictured) opened up in Fells Point. Adding some class and modern chic to the neighborhood, V-NO is very wine-centric with only a couple of food items on the menu. They categorize their wine bottles using simple adjectives (juicy, crisp, etc.) and have outside tables situated right on the water. Judging by a recent visit, business is surely booming. All of the outside tables were taken and the bar inside was pretty crowded, as well.

But now the latest to join the pack is 13.5% Wine Bar on the Avenue in Hampden. Located two storefronts down from Golden West Cafe, 13.5% will be owned by Wayne Laing, former owner of The Wine Underground. The shop should open within the week or so, and it will have a trendy bar and lounge area with a store to purchase bottles. Laing said glasses will be about $6 to $7 and the bar will also serve tapas.

It’s hard to imagine such an upscale-feeling place situated in the blue collar hub that is Hampden. Yeah, there are trendy boutiques and bistro-style restaurants. But, a wine bar/lounge? That’s really kicking it up a notch. “I feel as though I’m going to change the environment,” Laing told the Baltimore Messenger. “My philosophy is, if you build it, they will come.”

My guess is they definitely will. Hampden obviously already has a market for wine-savvy customers, as evidenced by The Wine Source‘s ever-popular tasting events. Plus, 13.5% will be in such a prominent location that the Avenue’s newest addition will be hard to ignore.

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