Reliably pleasant dining at Kings Contrivance

By Elizabeth Large | Sun restaurant critic

February 3, 2008

Howard County, which, for whatever reason, is long on franchise eating places and short on fine dining, has had one notable exception since the 1960s: the Kings Contrivance. It was one of the first restaurants in the area to offer Continental dining, and now is one of the last.

There's a sense of a different era about this place, even though the 1890s mansion has just gone through a major renovation to make it seem as fresh as a shiny new penny. The walls and trim have been painted in soothing neutrals, the floors redone, carpets and draperies replaced.

This time of year, there are fires in the gas fireplaces on a chilly evening.

It's sedate and comfortable, with an older, moneyed clientele who demand reliable if not always exciting food, an extensive international wine list, good service and relatively quiet dining rooms even when it's crowded. In all of these things, the restaurant delivers. But if you're looking for charming quirkiness, you won't find it here.

Take the fish on the Chef's Specials menu. It was a rockfish fillet stuffed with big lumps of crabmeat. Its beurre blanc was delicately seasoned with thyme; salt and pepper were left to the diner's discretion, not necessarily a bad thing; and the bed of bok choy under the fresh fish wasn't as exotic as it sounds.

Another special, a fat pork chop -- did it have to be cooked quite so long? -- came with sauteed apples and whipped sweet potatoes, very competently done.

But not exactly thrilling. More interesting was a pairing of roast duck breast slices with crisp-skinned quail. The supporting cast was potatoes, a dice of turnip and a cream sauce made with morels. The interplay of flavors with the poultry was intriguing; and the turnips, the mildly garlicky mashed potatoes and the rich sauce made the dish true winter comfort food.

Search around the regular menu, and among the penne and sauteed chicken, crab cakes and Roquefort-crusted filet mignon, you'll find some dishes that would pique anyone's interest, like the seafood bouillabaisse "Thai style." It was beautifully presented, with fine somen noodles, large scallops, pink shrimp and bits of lobster meat. A confetti of fresh pineapple added an unexpected note of sweetness to the spicy coconut broth.

The first courses (you won't find tapas here) have something of the same split personality.

There are fried oysters, shrimp cocktail and baked Brie, but also crisp-edged fritters made with eggplant and pine nuts, with a basic but good tomato sauce and olive butter.

A Cajun seafood crepe flirted with heat to good effect; and among the salads, the pleasant bitterness of arugula married well with crunchy leaves of endive, slices of spiced pear, not-too- sweet caramelized walnuts and shavings of parmesan.

One appetizer stood head and shoulders above the others: a suave duck pate that took to its fruity Cumberland sauce beautifully. It was an appetizer, not a meal in itself. Other kitchens could learn from this.

The Kings Contrivance understands that desserts should be rich and beautifully presented, with drizzles of good fruit sauces, a fresh raspberry here and a bit of creme anglaise there. The chocolate truffle torte overdid the rich part (the truffle on top alone would be enough for me); a "Hazelnut Obsession," which involved chocolate mousse and milk chocolate ganache, was a little less extreme.

My favorite was a fragile key lime pie with a scoop of coconut ice cream, a pairing that could have been too much but wasn't. The only miss was an English trifle -- layers of spongecake, strawberries and pastry cream -- that had been served with an ice cream scoop, so no amount of decoration made it look attractive. It was short on the fruit as well.

Good coffee rounded out the meal.

The Kings Contrivance was busy the night we were there, and I was impressed at how smoothly things went anyway. If it's excitement you're looking for, this isn't the restaurant for you. If you want a place that has reliably good food and a pleasant setting, this is a good choice, especially in this area where there isn't a lot of choice in independent fine dining restaurants. Just remember that these good things don't come cheap.

elizabeth.large@baltsun.com