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Nano Asian Dining189 Main Street, Annapolis
By Gilles and Kathy Syglowski
The historic district of Annapolis is filled with fine restaurants. One of the newest to move into a location halfway up Main Street, midway between City Dock and Church Circle, is a dining establishment specializing in Asian cuisine.
Midweek, when the pace is less frantic, we were looking for a quiet place to enjoy sushi and celebrate Kathy's birthday at the same time. Our destination, Nano Asian Dining, serves a variety of dishes, ranging from shrimp tempura and gyoza deep fried dumplings to beef negimaki and General Tso's chicken. But foremost on our minds was sushi, and the sushi selections were our favorite.
Ranging in price from $6-20, there are fourteen sushi choices listed on the trifold menu, plus an entire page of big sushi rolls ranging in price from $10.95-16.00. The big sushi rolls sport fanciful names that include American Dream, Virginia roll, Caterpillar, and California Dynamite.
The imaginative names of the big sushi rolls go with the vibrant décor. Bright orange paint and colorful abstract art by local artist Doreen DeSouga adorn the walls. Large silk leaves, Japanese lanterns, and swirling paper pinwheel mobiles hang from the ceiling. Previously located in this very same space was Nikko Japanese Steak, Seafood and Sushi. Now completely remodeled, it is no longer set up for hibachi-style dining; guests sit at individual tables and have plenty of room to spread out. The new restaurant is furnished in a contemporary style with stainless steel and warm tones of wood. The counter and sushi bar are open, however, so you can watch chef Yong Han do his magic.
Han joined the staff after working at Szechwan Gourmet in Baltimore. He cooked in China for 7 years, and moved to the United States 12 years ago. Owner Kevin Chou hails from Taiwan and Ling Wang was previously the manager at Kawasaki. The team of three opened Nano 6 months ago.
Recently they added a tatami room, for intimate dining, which is furnished in authentic Japanese style, with low tables. Tatami takes its name from the traditional Japanese flooring made of woven straw. While peasants sat on floors of dirt, nobility sat on tatami mats and thus they became an indication of social status. Highly regarded are tatami tea rooms, which were considered a quiet place for reflection and meditation. In the restaurant business, tatami rooms have evolved into rooms that give their inhabitants the sensation they have been transported to Asia. Servers dressed in kimonos complete the illusion.
A cup of warm sake is a nice way to start the meal; it is offered either warm or cold. Other choices include a glass of house Merlot, Cabernet, or Chardonnay at $4.50-5 a glass or $18 per bottle. The Japanese beers Kirin, Sapporo, and Asahi are available, along with a few domestic brands for $3-7. Appetizer choices include spring rolls and shrimp tempura. The California sushi roll is fresh and delicious.
For a main course I recommend the big sushi Nagoya rolls. Containing fried oysters, mayonnaise, and dried tuna with a smooth eel sauce, they were absolutely delicious. The big sushi roll is twice the size of regular sushi roll and requires more than one bite to consume. Served eight to an order, they are served with the customary wasabi horseradish and pickled ginger, which I feel enhances the flavors. On a subsequent visit with a friend we also sampled the American Dream roll, which contains eel, avocado, and tuna with a shrimp on top, along with the California Dynamite, filled with mixed cooked seafood and fish. My favorite, called the Rock and Roll, contains tempura shrimp, smelt, cucumber, and eel sauce.
Nano serves both lunch and dinner. For the person on the go there is a complete carryout. With 21 entrée selections priced from $11.50-26 there are a lot of possible choices, to fit a variety of budgets and tastes, that show the influence of Japanese, Thai, Szechwan, Malaysian, and Singapore cultures. For a sweet finish, end your meal with a dish of Japanese green tea ice cream for $2 or cheesecake for $3.50. The service is very good and the staff is anxious to please.
Gilles Syglowski is a chef, culinary instructor, and food services consultant. He is a graduate of the Lycie d'Eseignement Professional Hotelier in Metz, France. He and his wife, Kathy, a member of the International Wine Society, have more than 45 years' experience in the restaurant industry.
What's The DISH?
Chicken Salad one of many fine dishes at Ledo Pizza
By Wendi Winters
The new, sophisticated, 75-seat Ledo Pizza in the shopping center at Forest Drive and S. Cherry Grove in Annapolis is the first Ledo Pizza Restaurant in Annapolis proper. Based in Annapolis, Ledo Pizza is a third-generation, family-owned franchising operation now run by four brothers. The company has 75 restaurants, in Maryland; Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; Virginia; Georgia; and Florida. Now finally Annapolitans don't have to drive far to find a Ledo's.
New items are constantly being tested, then added to all the restaurants. Selections are adjusted three times a year. Every 2 years, new menus are printed up.
At the Annapolis Ledo Pizza, the sunlit restaurant is warm and inviting, with sponge-painted walls in variegated tones of dark parchment. The wainscoting and tabletops are the color of cordovan leather, accented with light oak trim. The franchise owners, Joan and Lew Mason and their son Chip, have also hung tasteful, unusual bric-a-brac, including vintage Turkish plates and pottery.
It is family friendly but also a good place to take a date on movie night or close a deal with a business associate. Don't let the restaurant's name fool you. Ledo Pizza serves a lot more than pizza.
"Pizza is just a slice of what we offer," says Ledo Pizza CEO Rob Beall, a grandson of the founders. But there's nothing wrong with its pizzas. In addition to regular pizzas that are customized with choices from among twenty toppings, it offers seven specialty pizzas. The menu also includes salads, subs, sandwich-soup-salad combos, burgers, calzones, stromboli, lasagnas, and pastas
The colorful Veal Milanese is a dish of piccata-sauced fettuccine noodles topped with tender, breaded veal cutlets and artichokes, tomatoes, and black olives. The dish has a distinct, tongue-pleasing tang of lemon. At a reasonable $8.49, it could easily be a full lunch or dinner for two.
The Famous Ledo Steak & Cheese sub is a generously portioned sub slathered with porterhouse steak slices and topped with provolone cheese and the works. The roll is several steps up from the bland, chewy white-bread rolls normally served elsewhere. This one had a bit of a crunch to it, a nice counterpoint to its brawny heft. Quite a handful for $5.69.
For a lighter meal, the chicken salad made with artichoke hearts and served on a bed of greens at $6.99 is both satisfying and delicious. And then there are those famous Ledo's pizzas: rectangular, with a crust that is light, like a galette piecrust, the kind you find covered in silky chocolate and sold in French bakeries." There are no doughy ropes of crust like those that have acquired monstrous proportions and crowded out the toppings on traditional round pizzas in recent years.
The thinner, tastier Ledo crust ensures the whole pizza gets eaten.
The chefs make a big ball of dough by hand every 2 hours. As an order comes in, they pinch off a piece of dough, roll it out, and bake it to order. Anything not used after 2 hours gets tossed.
The New Wave pizza is a combination of roasted artichoke hearts, sweet red onions, smoked provolone (not the less expensive mozzarella used by most establishments), and grilled chicken, for $6.79 for a small size, more than enough for two or three people. It was a great break from the typical pepperoni pizza my kids seem to favor. This one was full of texture and bursts of flavor in every bite.
Buffalo Pizza takes its name from the chicken wings and is a hot and spicy meal, with chunks of melted provolone cheese, roasted chicken, and hot sauce, served with a side of blue cheese dressing.
The service at the Annapolis Ledo Pizza is friendly and efficient. "Bottomless" drinks are swiftly refilled and empty dishes whisked away to make room for new ones. The waitstaff is well versed in the ingredients of menu items and quick to offer suggestions.
One of those suggestions is to try the desserts, particularly when your eyes lock in on the many lovely delicacies tucked inside the dessert display at the front counter: a delicious array of diet-busting cheesecakes, cakes, and tortes. Creamy chocolate mousse cakes and pies vie with lemon mist cake slices to tempt passersby. They are not listed on the regular menu or the online version at www.ledopizza.com, but are, instead, specialties of this particular franchise.
The staff delights in describing the treats as seductively as possible, making it hard to resist at $3.99 a serving. The Milky Way Mousse cake is a tactile ride through several rich layers of cake and soft, creamy chocolate. The lemon mist cake is topped with a cockscomb of white chocolate and layered with lemon curd. The table presentation of both desserts, artily zigzagged with sweet sauces and arranged on retro dishes, is something you'd expect from a pricier establishment.
In addition to sodas and lemonades, Ledo Pizza restaurants sell about six wines and beers. A new addition is a Ledo Lager brewed by Maryland's own Fordham Brewery.
With so many different foods to choose from, you'll find yourself visiting the Annapolis Ledo Pizza again and again.
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Serves four |
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Brine
Salad
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Taste
The Chart House
300 Second Street, Annapolis
410-268-7166
chart-house.com
By Nadja Maril
"One of my favorite places for a romantic date," one of my old neighbors told me, "is the lounge at the Chart House." There's no better place to look out over the harbor and watch the setting sun as large sailboats coast into the harbor and impressive cabin cruisers tie up to dock for the night. The large double-story room with an entire wall of windows looking out on the water and a center fireplace of polished copper is a cozy place to sit, nestled up in a large, soft armchair at a low table, with a drink in hand. You can order freshly shucked oysters on the half shell from the raw bar, or crab-stuffed mushrooms, and linger for hours. Sunday through Thursday you can eat your dinner there as well, admiring the spectacular view.
If you want to position yourself closer to the Chart House's famous salad bar, you'll need to move to the dining room. In our 2005 readers' survey, you voted Chart House Best Salad Bar plus Best Place to Take the Out-of-Towners, probably partially due to the outstanding view. Upbeat jazz music is heard in both the bar and dining areas, but the taped music is not too loud for intimate conversations with family and friends. The walls are hung with handsome prints of sailboats and the upholstery and carpeting feature warm shades of tan and gold.
The wine list is extensive and offers a variety for all tastes in all price ranges, including a bottle of Clarksburg Dry Creek Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2004 for $24, a bottle of Monterey Estancia Pinot Noir 2003 for $43, and a bottle of Napa Valley Opus One Cabernet 2000 for $250. They also serve wine by the glass. Prices range from $5.25-17.
From the moment you enter the restaurant, the staff is both friendly and attentive. Take time to chat with your server about any specialties of the evening and learn his or her personal favorites. If you are planning on dessert, the time to order the Hot Chocolate Lava Cake is when you sit down, as it takes 30 minutes to prepare. It's definitely worth the calories, if you love chocolate.
A great way to start your meal is with the salad bar, available for $5.95 with any entrée selection. Freshly tossed Caesar salad, bowls of spinach, baby greens, romaine lettuce and the standard cucumbers, mushrooms, broccoli, beets, and radishes, along with the more exotic-hearts of palm, marinated artichoke heart salad, and capers-are just some of the salad bar selections. Caviar, sour cream, diced red onions, and chopped hard-boiled eggs enable you to create your own elegant appetizers. A selection of fresh fruit, potato salad, and pasta salad provide other tempting choices. Make the salad bar your meal for $13.95.
When I told our waiter, Eric, I was in the mood for seafood, preferably fish, he suggested Snapper Hemingway ($26.95). Crusted with a crispy coating that includes Parmesan cheese, the lovely fillet was sautéed, topped with jumbo lump crab meat, and presented on top of a sauce of shallot butter. It was an excellent choice. Served with rice pilaf, the fish was both moist and crunchy, complemented by the smooth rich sauce.
My husband, also in the mood for seafood, ordered another of Eric's favorites: Dynamite Halibut ($27.95). True to its title the Dynamite Halibut had a touch of a spicy zing in the sauce, which provided a nice taste contrast to the red snapper. Also topped with morsels of crabmeat, it is served on a bed of coconut-ginger rice.
My daughter opted to dine on the appetizer lobster spring rolls ($9.95). Filled with fresh vegetables and lobster meat, they made an ample small dinner. She particularly liked the tangy mustard sauce that accompanies this dish.
The Chart House has always been known for its beef and has a number of prime rib ($23.95 and $27.95) and steak ($25.95) selections. Two options pair a 6-ounce beef filet with shrimp ($26.95) or Australian lobster tail ($37.95); another combines the prime rib with an Australian lobster tail ($40.95). Other notable choices include the tomato basil chicken ($15.95), baked stuffed shrimp ($23.95), and jumbo lump crab cakes seared and served with caper butter ($26.95). Want a little bit of everything? Order the Chart House mixed grill, which includes a crab cake, fresh grilled fish, and shrimp accompanied by seasonal vegetables and rice pilaf ($24.95)
We were so full by the end of the meal we didn't bother looking at the dessert menu, since we'd already placed an order for Hot Chocolate Lava Cake ($7.95). Warm and cold, moist and crunchy, it was a great way to end our dinner and provided plenty for us to share.
Reservations are recommended, particularly on weekends. The Chart House, located in Eastport at 300 Second Street, opens for dinner at 5 p.m. 410-268-7166, chart-house.com.
Annapolis Spirits
Simple Table Wines are the Best Choice for a Grand Feast
By Daniel Moreau
Thanksgiving dinner is by culinary custom a beverage-defying meal of too many flavors and too much food. Gourmands otherwise confident in their kitchen skills blanch at the challenge of pairing wines with their menu. No wonder, complex wines that offer an arc of flavors and aromas as you drink them get lost in the sauce, and the gravy, and the sweet potatoes.
The solution is to move down the wine chain to simpler table-level wines that offer plenty of fruit and limited acidity. This is one holiday that spares the wine cellar. Big, oaked, and fruity Chardonnays from California and destroyer-class Cabernet Sauvignons full of fruit and tannins that have made them famous and pricey won't be welcome here.
When you shop for this meal's refreshment, you'll be in the cheap seats at your liquor store. And your pocketbook won't be the worse for it. Only one of the wines we're about to recommend costs more than $12-14 locally. None is older than 2 or 3 years, nor would any age particularly well if you cellared them.
Lighter-duty Sauvignon Blancs, especially from the Marlborough region of New Zealand, and dry Rieslings from the Northwest are sure choices. U.S. reds that make the cut include Grenache, Syrah, and Pinot Noir. Roses, the little pink stepchildren of wines, work well here, too.
There's a simple truth at the center of these Thanksgiving wine picks: the wines are simple-unstructured is the word-with medium-to-light fruit flavors and with some, but not a lot of, acidity and little or no oak. The fruit complements the patchwork of flavors already on the table, while the limited acidity can take on the fat-laden gravy and stuffing.
Oaking, which puts wines in oak barrels of varying ages, would add toast, vanilla, coffee, and even chocolate flavors to wine. Fine attributes in nobler wines, but they would clash with the flavors already at the table. So you KISS this meal: keep it simple Sauvignon.
New Zealand's Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2004 ($12) carries herbal, pear, and lime flavors, countered with some acidity. The Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2004 ($12.50) offers tropical fruit, pear, and pineapple flavors balanced with hints of mineral, but typical of the New Zealand whites: no oak. This wine will seem refreshing, easy to drink, and food friendly.
Thanksgiving lends itself to one white wine that defies most food: Gewürztraminer, the spicy sweet wine that comes on too strong for many palates and most dishes. But Thanksgiving's cacophony of flavors favors this wine. The 2003 Columbia Crest Gewürztraminer ($9) carries just enough spiciness to counter the food, but not so much you tire of it. Chateau St. Michelle produces a comparable Gewürztraminer in the same price range. Both are from Washington State.
Another choice blends Riesling and Gewürztraminer to spice up the former and soften the latter. Try Rosemount's Traminer-Riesling South Eastern Australia 2004. Typical of many Australian wines, it's soft-textured, with floral, pineapple, and spice flavors and a smooth finish. It's widely available for about $8 a bottle.
If you're serving a simpler Thanksgiving spread, say minus the sugary sweet potatoes, you can move up to more complex wines with an array of flavors and a long finish that stays on your taste buds after you've swallowed a sip. A 2003 Markham Sauvignon Blanc, easily available for less than $14, is a dependable choice. It carries more oak than the Villa Maria. Like all of the wines here, it's best at between 45 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit, a range that keeps the sweetness in balance.
As a transitional wine, the 2003 Tin Roof Pinot Noir Rose ($9) is an interesting choice. It's a product of California's Russian River Valley and one of the prime producers there, Murphy-Goode, known for its premium Fume Blancs. Unlike the Fume, this is a wine without pretension. The tin roof is a reference to its screw cap and a tip to its heritage, as if Murphy-Goode was saying, "Trust us on this, this is as advertised, nothing more, nothing less." They're right. It's lean and light with a hint of cherries and herbs. Serve it slightly chilled.
Jacob's Creek Grenache/Shiraz 2003 ($8) is a light red with a hint of plum, raspberry, and spice. Best to serve this Australian wine slightly chilled, bringing it out of the refrigerator a half hour or so before serving. Chilling this red adds body to the flavor.
One of the best values in reds for the Thanksgiving table is the Washington State Columbia Crest Shiraz Columbia Valley 2002. It's widely available for about $8 a bottle. Like most of our offerings, it's easy on the palate, with raspberry, plum, and spice flavors that are hallmarks of Shiraz.
A tawny port, typically tasting of coffee, caramel, and spice, works well as a dessert wine. Typical dessert wines such as tokay or muscat are often too sweet for all that's come before them. But if you want to please white wine drinkers, offer a Cave Spring Late Harvest Riesling (2002). This Ontario, Canada, ice wine offers a nice balance between sweetness and acidity for about $20 U.S. for the .375 ml. bottle.
What to bring your host: If you're a thoughtful guest looking to please, the Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut Columbia Valley Cuvee NV 2003, for about $12, epitomizes a Thanksgiving wine. It's light, lean, and dry, with just a hint of pear flavor.
Gourmet cook and wine connoisseur Daniel Moreau is an author and freelance writer who lives in Annapolis.