This farm-to-table restaurant in the stunning Conrad Hotel is an homage to the Chesapeake. Take the toasted Maryland blue crab and shrimp brioche roll, for instance, which oozes with organic butter and fish sauce-flavored mayonnaise. Old Bay fries make an excellent accompaniment to this item, not unlike the fennel pollen and flurry of micro herbs that enhance a mound of tuna tartare with heat from Calabrian chilies. While seafood figures heavily on the menu, it’s not the sole offering. Desserts, like the peanut butter-cheesecake, make for a rich and memorable sendoff.
Views from the space frame the energetic downtown scene. Yet, it's hard not to be drawn to the theatrics of the open kitchen, where cooks work by the glow of library-style lamps.