Richard Gorelick clearly liked chef Mathew Milani and his ambition, and he recommends the infused vodkas and rums that the Rumor Mill makes in-house. But that didn't translate into the food Gorelick ate. A tiny chunk:
. . . I have run into few chefs as eager to please as Milani, who paid a pleasant visit to our table and who appears absolutely in earnest about his restaurant's mission. It would be much easier to turn a buck in Ellicott City with pub grub. I admire Milani for sticking to his guns.
But I find myself without a single dish to lavish praise on. A duck dish came very close: This was a simply presented dish of cardamom-infused sous-vide duck breast, thinly sliced, served with brined cherries and pomegranate oil. If it suffered from anything, it was being in such uninspired company.Oddly, Gorelick had just listed Rumor Mill as the 12th best restaurant in Howard County (and 28th best in his Top 50 in Baltimore, Howard and Anne Arundel counties). That had kicked off comments from people like Ken Oh, who talked up Johnny's and complained about Rumor Mill's inconsistency.
I have actually never been to the Rumor Mill. HoCo Rising recommends it and already defended the bread pudding against charges of density. The bread pudding was HoCo Rising's #3 favorite food in Howard County -- ahead of burgers and lobster grilled cheese!
I had a lot of fun when I went to the Rumor Mill a few months ago, but my husband was less enthusastic. We ordered a selection of small plates, and the ones I selected ended up really just appealing to me, so I think that biased it a lot more in my favor. I do agree about a better accompaniment than tortilla chips for the tuna/guacamole dish, although a replacement suggestion isn't quite coming to mind at the moment.
ReplyDelete~kam
I find myself sadly agreeing with Gorelick here. We've been going to the Rumor Mill since their Asian Fusion phase. Perhaps the chef should just stop trying too hard. My favorite was a grilled cheese sandwich that, alas, is no longer in their menu.
ReplyDeleteSweet, sweet vindication.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that, apparently, I've eaten one of the best things at Rumor Mill, if the sous-vide duck is that, and have still come out nothing thinking it was good. If you must ingest anything other than drinks there, stick with the edamame and sweet potato fries.
The sweet potato fries were awesome, and the one thing my husband really liked.
ReplyDeleteHm. Between this and my comments on BGR, I think my sweet potato fry bias may have been revealed. ;)
~kam