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"An Italian Masterpiece"
- New York Times
"Thank you, Chef Aldo, for opening
a world-class restaurant in Baltimore"
- From Baltimore Magazine, August 2001
REVIEWS
Following is just a sample of the praise
heaped upon Aldo's:
"Aldo’s is a great restaurant...it attracts a steady clientele of traveling gourmet diners who have heard others sing its praises. I like it enormously. I appreciate the obvious care taken with assembling choice ingredients, much of which are organic and locally purveyed, and the flawless preparations. And while I admire the plush feel of Aldo’s variously splendid dining rooms—all of which were hand-built by Aldo Vitale, a carpenter in his native Calabria before coming to America and finding his calling as a chef—I most often dine at the dark front bar, where the company is good, typically other diners as satisfied with themselves as I am to have found such a special place.
This year, I kept a promise to myself and went with a friend to Aldo’s on Christmas Eve to be a part of the restaurant’s La Vigilia celebration. Observed by Catholic communities around the world but most famously in Italy, this tradition, which is marked by a massive seafood feast, has come to be better known in America as “the feast of the seven fishes.” Aldo’s restaurant version of La Vigilia is but a vestigial reminder of an annual ritual that would consume months of planning (acquiring, salting, and storing), days of preparation, and many, many hours of consumption. Accounts and memories of the feast and its attendant traditions varies widely in Italy from north to south region, wealthy landlocked village to impoverished seaport town, and even from family to family, with little posturing about which tradition is real or correct. The one common element is the emphasis on seafood on a day when red meat is proscribed from the table.
What I found so appealing about Aldo’s version is how it so nimbly negotiates the terrain between respectfulness for old-world tradition and mindfulness of contemporary diners’ expectations. A $65 tasting menu comprised four courses, with the main entrée a choice between a homey salted cod dish and the brazenly sumptuous branzino, or Mediterranean sea bass, a fish unlikely to be found on a peasant family’s table, even for the most lavish meal of the year.
My dining companion, the son of an Italian woman who passed away between last Christmas and this one, was reassured by seeing salted cod, or baccala, on the menu—it signified authenticity to him—but chose the branzino instead, leaving baccala alla Calabrese to me. Even within this one dish, Vitale managed to satisfy competing expectations. Hunks of cod with potatoes and strong little Calabrese olives were cooked in a gently balanced tomato bouillon. While the dish looked appropriately modest, its taste was elegant. There’s nothing reticent about the branzino that was served ripieno, supplemented—stuffed—with jumbo lump crab imperial, accompanied by lobster-saffron mashed potatoes. This dish was just all-out lavishness and lusciousness, pillowy textures and buttery tastes.
The tasting menu began with an antipasto of seared scallops with citrus beurre blanc and a fritto misto, or “mixed fry” of calamari, salted cod, smelts, and petite Gulf shrimp. Here again was a pleasing mix of plain and fancy. Just enough breading on the delicate fishes to provide snap and flavor, a massive scallop handled precisely, its own juices preserved perfectly inside.
Diners chose between a cold seafood salad and crab-and-shrimp chowder for the second course. The first simply mixed chilled, marinated Gulf shrimp, calamari, octopus, and sea scallops with arugula and mista field greens in a sprightly citrus vinaigrette, a good choice for its palate refreshment. The chowder, on the other hand, lavished the tongue with its generosity of silky crabmeat, sweet corn, and rich sherry flavor. The final course was a holiday dessert trio—a gorgeous panettone bread pudding, homemade tiramisu, and assorted biscotti and chocolate “ornaments.” Among these last were little balls of Belgian chocolate coated in corn flakes, the perfect emblem for a chef and a meal whose guiding thought was to please and delight.
There was a celebrity dining at Aldo’s on this Christmas Eve, a world-famous fashion designer, herself from Calabria, whose opulent lifestyle and appreciation of excess has been merrily lampooned on Saturday Night Live. We were happy that Donatella Versace had found Aldo’s, imagining that she felt both comforted by the cod and delighted by the decadence of crab imperial over sea bass, the crunch of a corn flake over chocolate."
- Citypaper.com
The place for romance — Aldo's, an architecturally stunning restaurant in Little Italy, is the spot to tryst, propose or celebrate with your sweetie. The romantic interior has an atrium in its marble courtyard and wait staff in tuxedos. Aldo's, which only serves dinner, features eclectic Italian cuisine such as creamy fettucine Maine lobster Bolognese, and Tournedos Rossini with foie gras, black truffles and porcini. Ask for a tour of the subterranean cheese cave. Aldo's is expensive but worth every penny. Reservations are a must on the weekends.
-USA Today
"A Cathedral to Southern Italian Cuisine"
SPIRIT Magazine, Southwest Airlines, 2004
"Aldo's Tournedos Rossini. The
menu description: "Grilled prime filet mignon, seared
Hudson Valley foie gras, Italian black truffle, porcini, and
wild mushroom sauce, with four-cheese risotto." The result:
exactly what you'd expect from Chef Aldo Vitale--an original
and accomplished take on a classic dish, using the best and
freshest ingredients available. Every bite is like an epicurean
argument for the triumph of momentary pleasure and the importance
of accepting into your life, at least occasionally, something
that is the best."
from THE BALTIMORE CITYPAPER's TOP TEN
(THE YEAR IN FOOD - 2003)
"Dear Mr. Vitale:
Congratulations! Your restaurant has been
nominated for the North American Restaurant Association's
highest award, the FIVE STAR AWARD OF EXCELLENCE. Within the
past three months, Aldo's Ristorante Italiano was anonymously
visited by a NARA trained inspector. Our inspector reported
that the food and wine were absolutely superb, and the service,
impeccable. From making the reservation to paying the
check, it was a perfect dining experience.
The NARA FIVE STAR AWARD OF EXCELLENCE places
you in a different category than other fine restaurants. Whether
potential customers are looking for an intimate dining
experience, a restaurant for corporate functions or other
special events, the NARA rating will assure them of nothing
less than the finest beef, the freshest seafood, and the best-cellared
wines.
Again, Congratulations!"
-North American Restaurant Association
"Best Italian Restaurant -Pretty much
extraordinary, and, before we get all crazy talking about
the food, we want you to know that the place is drop-dead
gorgeous, with room upon room, in what had been adjoining
Little Italy rowhouses, gleaming with the handcrafted woodwork
and cabinetry of chef/owner Aldo Vitale. Their overwhelming
effect is to make you both want to fall in love with someone
you can take there and to curse the days you dozed off in
wood shop. It's so nice, too, to see the obvious pride the
superb and opposite-of-haughty staff takes in the restaurant.
As for the food, it's solid, man. Crafted by Vitale from local,
organic, and seasonal ingredients (we know, but this time
it's true), all of which are allowed to speak for themselves.
True, sometimes the ingredients are not so local: buffalo
mozzarella is flown in twice a week from Campania in Southern
Italy for a perfect caprese, and Hudson Valley foie gras elevates
Aldo's tournedos Rossini (which you wouldn't think could be
improved on much) to something approaching restaurant heaven.
Look, we actually do like the warm and homey pasta houses
in Little Italy. Aldo's is painting with a different palate,
though, and you need to go see what's happening behind the
columns on High Street."
- CityPaper 2003
"Though there’s plenty of space in this elegantly
remodeled Little Italy rowhouse, each separate room feels
intimate. Servers are wonderfully knowledgeable...That wine
list is excellent (try anything from Calabria). Also try an
appetizer of capellini galleto, a crispy fried round of thin
pasta covered with stunning truffle-mushroom sauce, or a delicious
salad of baby spinach, walnuts, and gorgonzola drizzled with
vino cotto (red wine reduced to a syrup consistency). Aldo’s
has a practiced hand at bowl-you-over entrées, particularly
red meat. Properly aged, meltingly tender filet mignon and
a huge, succulent double-cut Wisconsin veal chop will make
you question the necessity of going to a steakhouse. For dessert?
Although the tiramisu fad is passé, try Aldo’s
version anyway; it’s terrific. Ditto the panna cotta."
- Baltimore Magazine, Best Restaurants 2003
"Baltimore's Best Restaurants"
"Hooray for chef/owner Aldo Vitale. A proponent
of locally grown produce and seasonal ingredients, he's raised
the bar for Italian cuisine in Baltimore with a roster of
regional Italian favorites whose secret to success is the
high quality of their components. This means that the vine-ripened
tomatoes in a simple fresh mozzarella salad will, indeed,
be ripe and sweet, elevating the dish to perfection. Similarly,
a rustic ossobuco grabs you with the earthiness of its accompanying
risotto; those porcinis and wild mushrooms thrill with their
intensity. Over-the-top creations like lobster-saffron mashed
potatoes and a grilled filet mignon with seared foie gras
perfectly match the fabulous wine list and big-night-out surroundings,
but the essential excellence of the ingredients is what makes
this venue the best Little Italy has to offer."
- Baltimore Magazine, 2002
BALTIMORE'S BEST PRIVATE
DINING ROOM
"The private dining room at Aldo's, 306 S. High Street,
410-727-0700, has the air of an Italian wine cave, with vaulted
ceilings painted to look like aged stucco and a simple but
handsome wood table handmade by former carpenter-turned-chef
Aldo Vitale himself. Aldo's couples those cozy climes with
superb service and refined Italian cooking. The result is
memorable."
- Baltimore Magazine, August 2001
"Baltimore's Best Restaurant"
Baltimore's Most Romantic Restaurant"
- CitySearch.com
Voted "One of the Top 5 Hottest Restaurants in Baltimore"
- Nation's Restaurant News Magazine
One of "The World's Best Restaurants
for Wine Lovers", "Award of Excellence 2000",
"Award of Excellence 2001"
- Wine Spectator Magazine
"Aldo's covers all the details crucial
to a top-class Italian restaurant. The olive oil on your table
is bright green, the bread is fresh and substantial. The decor
is elegantly spare, with small arches between the intimate
dining rooms. The wine list is suitably grand, and your server
is well-equipped to point out the highlights. Water glasses
are always full; nobody calls you "you guys." And,
most importantly, the food is excellent. A foie gras appetizer
provides meltingly rich texture, nicely set off by a tart
cherry sauce. Savory white-bean bruschetta and the housemade
soppresatta are fine examples of peasant food turned into
high expressions of Italian cuisine. The marinated, grilled
lamb chops are delectable and perfectly cooked, as are the
agnolotti, plump pasta pillows filled and generously topped
with wild mushrooms. Super desserts like the creamy pannacotta
with a crunchy sugar crust complete the portrait. Of course,
such perfection doesn't come cheap, but at Aldo's you get
what you pay for."
- Baltimore Magazine, 2001
"ONE OF THE TOP FIVE TASTES OF 1999!"
"This polished, romantic space is Aldo Vitale's latest
gift to the neighborhood...A refined taste of old Italy in
Little Italy"
- Southern Living Magazine, December 1999
"The most sophisticated restaurant in
Little Italy"
- Southern Living Magazine, March 2000
"One of the Nation's Best Restaurants"
- The Food Network, "Best Of..." Holiday
Special 1999
Aldo's is a true compliment to Baltimore's
Little Italy. Superb food served with expertise and personality
in elegant surroundings captures the dining experience."
- AAA Mid-Atlantic Tour Book 2000, Three Diamond Rating
"One of the Top 12 Upscale Restaurants
in the Region"
"Chef Aldo Vitale is setting a new pace for Little Italy"
- Baltimore Magazine, February 2000
"Terrific...stunningly attractive...the
veal saltimbocca made one's taste buds want to burst into
song"
- Editor's Choice, Where Baltimore
"The prettiest restaurant in Little Italy"
- Elizabeth Large, The Baltimore
Sun
"The beautiful surroundings, wonderful
service, fresh and flavorful food, and an ever-growing collection
of wines from around the world, make Aldo's Ristorante Italiano
Baltimore's Premier Italian Restaurant. You owe it to yourself
to experience its authentic Italian cuisine."
- Jubilee Magazine, October 1999
OUR GUESTS SPEAK OUT!
THE SWEETEST THING
"As someone who has quite literally searched the world
over for the best desserts, I appreciated your last issue's
focus ("How Sweet It Is," July 2001). However, I was disappointed
to notice that you forgot about my absolute favorite dessert,
tiramisu. I have eaten at nearly every Italian restaurant
in Little Italy and a number of them throughout the state
in search of a good version of this old classic. Hands down,
the best tiramisu in the state (the world?) is found at Aldo's.
Thank you, Chef Aldo, for opening a world-class restaurant
in Baltimore and thank you for your distinctly decadent tiramisu."
Irian Rodriguez, Baltimore
- "Letters to the Editor"
Baltimore Magazine, August 2001
RECIPES
BACCALA ALLA CALABRESE
(as featured on The Food Network)
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 vine ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and evenly diced
12 Calabrese olives (you may substitute Calamata)
2 bay leaves
4 or 5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 cups light chicken stock
2 pounds baccala, rehydrated
2 medium potatoes, peeled, cut 1/2-inch dice
Pinch crushed hot pepper
Salt and fresh pepper to taste (judiciously, as the baccalà
will impart some salt to the dish)
In a large pot, saute the onions in the olive
oil over medium heat until they are translucent, about 3 to
4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute. Add the tomatoes,
olives, bay leaves, and basil and allow to simmer for roughly
10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, baccala and potatoes; allow
to simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are
tender. Season with salt and pepper, to taste and serve immediately.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
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