Cork's Restaurant

Federal Hill, Baltimore...Cork’s Chef Pellegrino is a man that easily shares his passion for food.

At Corks diners enter the glass-fronted building and are greeted by the bustle of the front kitchen where much of the food preparation takes place.

Chef Pellegrino has a robust love of Maryland wines and as he welcomed our group for a hands-on “The Art of Making Pizza” demonstration class ($55.00 per person) he uncorked Maryland wines Basignani Lorenzino Reserve 2005 and a Basignani Seyval 2006 from a Sparks, Maryland winery and a Woodhall Jubilee Reserve Barbera (2007) and Woodhall Gunpowder Falls White (2007).

The Basignani Lorenzino Reserve 2005 is an incredible blending of Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc with Merlot. The wines nose is jammy with hints of blackberry, herbs and spices.

This wine, and Chef Jerry’s passion for incredible food, is one of the many Baltimore Surprises I hope to share with you from my tour of Baltimore eateries!

Corks is an intimate space where diners will find a menu replete with incredible cheeses – cheese sandwiches, fondue and plates.

With those cheeses ask for Chef Jerry’s salami, a rich, garlicky sausage devoid to my tastes of the offending peppers and mustard corn so often found in Baltimore’s German inspired cuisine.

The sausage is dark red and has just the right amount of savory greasiness to make it perfect.

Visit Corks for lunch, or dinner and don’t miss the Cork’s Burger made from ground Bison and grilled Vidalia onions.

For a larger meal, try Chef’s Black Truffle Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes.

For restaurant week, Corks offers both a lunch and dinner menu with great choices like Truffle Scented Mac & Cheese, Fuji Apple Lasagna and Chef Jerry’s delicious Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cake, a pound-cake like dish served with lemon curd and ginger Chantilly cream.

For dinner, my choices amongst the many would be the Beef Carpaccio appetizer, Hudson Valley Farms Confit Duck Leg and the Chocolate Cheesecake that is fluffy, light and very chocolate.

Corks
Chef Jerry Pellegrino
1026 South Charles Street
410-752-3810

Jacquie Kubin is the editor of Donne Tempo Magazine, and The Communities at the Washington Times and two-time award winning writer. Follow Donne Tempo on Twitter and Facebook!