Review: Alchemy Restaurant (Baltimore, MD)

Wow, I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve done a restaurant review :-/ So glad I made it out enjoy Baltimore Restaurant Week! My foodie friends and I chose to dine at Alchemy, a modern American eatery. Alchemy’s offering of a three-course meal for $30.13 had us drooling days before our reservation.

Although parking can be tricky in the northwest Hampden neighborhood, I lucked up and found a space on the street right in front of the restaurant Our party was immediately seated in a snug corner behind the hostess stand. Always ones for the full experience, we began with a selection of handcrafted cocktails. Although they were all delicious, what stands out in my memory is the cucumber basil gin (?) drink….is there any combination more refreshing?

Due to our pre-stalking of the menu, we warned our waiter that we planned on ordering a few “extras”. He was a great sport and didn’t flinch at our gregarious nature. Because none of us were willing to pass on the colossal crab mac and cheese, we ordered some to share for the table. Deliciously creamy, rich and full of HUGE lumps of crab meat, this dish was a home run.

911

Crab Bisque

912

Colossal Crab Mac and Cheese

913

Doughnut Peach Cider Glazed Salmon

915

Braised Frenched Beef Short Rib

916

Chorizo Burger

917

Carrot Cake with Limoncello Cream Cheese Icing

918

Pear Riesling Sorbet

For my meal I ordered the crab bisque, chorizo burger and pear riesling sorbet. The crab bisque was perfect with hints of cream and sherry and more lumps of crab (gotta love Baltimore!).  I was so full from the mac and cheese and bisque that I could only eat half of my chorizo burger: ground sirloin, chorizo sausage, caramelized onions, baby arugula, tomato, green chili mayo and Manchego cheese on toasted Brioche. My word! Talk about a party in your mouth! It was just as yummy the next day when I had more room The pear riesling sorbet was light, slightly sweet and unlike any flavor I had ever had before – I really enjoyed it.

Other dishes of note included the french onion au gratin soup, braised frenched beef short rib and the carrot cake with Limoncello cream cheese icing. One friend ordered the doughnut peach cider glazed salmon and although she thought it was good, it didn’t quite live up to the rest of the amazing dishes enjoyed that evening.

Overall, I would definitely return to Alchemy. The atmosphere was cozy.  The service was great, minus some overly anxious premature clearing of our table which we later learned was due to the rush that Restaurant Week brings. Most importantly, the food was delicious and the chef displayed a keen understanding of letting the food speak for itself.

Missed out on Baltimore Restaurant Week? Lucky for you Alchemy is extending its restaurant week menu through Saturday, February 9th. To find out more, please visit their website here and keep up with new updates here.

Have you ever been to Alchemy? Which dish described above sounds the most delicious to you? Do you have restaurant week where you live? Leave your sunshine below.

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