Tastebuds Travel to Sammy's Trattoria
Briana CaBell
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Wine Cooler: $2.69
Can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli: $1.29
Night at Sammy's Trattoria: Priceless
Well...$150. That's almost priceless, isn't it? Ok, it's not, but I had a great time anyway.
Last month the Asian expedition didn't work out so well, so this time I'm looking for some good old American fare. And what is more authentically American than Italian? With that in mind, that same friend and I, along with one other freeloading hitchhiker, headed back to Baltimore. Our destination this go-round was Sammy's Trattoria on the corner of North Charles and Biddle streets.
Immediately upon entering, I was caught by the aroma of tomatoes, garlic and wine. Sammy's is sparsely decorated with a few art prints on the walls and some wrought iron accents on a backdrop of off-white textured walls and wood furniture. I've never been to Italy, but I could imagine I was in an Italian trattoria—or at least an American restaurant pretending to be an Italian trattoria.
On this particular Tuesday evening, the restaurant wasn't too busy and we were quickly seated. My friends ordered a nice house wine (about $7 a glass) and we perused the appealing appetizers; we were starving which made them sound even better. We settled on Shrimp Bruschetta ($8.99), Crab Toast ($9.99) and Fried Calamari ($7.99). I found the bruschetta a bit soggy, and the dressing was so tangy that it overpowered the shrimp. My friend thought the dish would have been better warm.
The Crab Toast was superb! Buttery and delicate—definitely a winner. Usually I find calamari rubbery and tasteless, but I must say that Sammy's managed to make it very tasty and not at all fishy or chewy. We all ordered different entrées so we could share. Seafood Fra Diavolo ($23.99), Chicken Parmesan ($17.99) and Shrimp Scampi ($21.99). Each dish comes with a choice of pasta and sauce. We chose spaghetti with marinara.
We couldn't believe the portion sizes! The Seafood Fra Diavolo was huge, and the shrimp in the Scampi were mammoth. We all agreed that the seafood dish was spicy, but not unbearably so, and the Shrimp Scampi was creamy, buttery and garlicky. Honestly, I've had better Chicken Parmesan at Olive Garden, but let's not split hairs.
We struggled to make it through dessert: Mountainberry Gelato ($5.99) and Italian Cheesecake ($5.99). I have no idea what a mountainberry is exactly, but there were plenty suspended within the frozen purple concoction.
My American taste buds searched for more sweetness from the gelato and the creamy cheesecake, but I was assured that authentic Italian desserts are not very sweet.
All in all we had a great time at Sammy's. The staff was pleasant, the portions were huge, and the atmosphere was enjoyable.
The previous occupants, a French bistro and a Mexican restaurant, did not last long. I hope, however, that Sammy's will be around for awhile.
CaBell, contributing writer for The UB Post, can be reached at briana.cabell@ubalt.edu.
Sammy's Trattoria
1200 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
Hours
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday–Friday
Dinner: 5 p.m. to close, Tuesday–Sunday
web–www.sammystrattoria.com
phone– 410.837.9999