Helen's Garden is closing. Actually, it's in the process of being sold by its owners, Tom Looney and Ed Scherer, who, says Looney, are "not so much retiring as downsizing." Still, the end of Helen's as we know it is sad news for its fans, and for the 25 or so employees currently working there.
Cushioning the blow somewhat is the nature of the closing, which is neither sudden nor forced. There is still time for regulars, and former regulars, to have the cornmeal-crusted catfish, pecan-crusted trout and steak au poivre — the kind of chef-driven, thoughtfully prepared food that Helen's Garden introduced to Canton Square back in April 1995.
"Chef Annemarie Langton and I are pulling out all the stops so we can go out with heads high," Looney says.
Helen's Garden, which was named for Looney's mother, Helen Marie Looney, took off quickly, as I recall it, and, within five years expanded to its current 175-seat size. Known best, perhaps, for its Wednesday night half-price dinner specials (which some wary regulars learned to avoid) and all-day happy hours, Helen's Garden was for many people the ideal first-date place, the just-right balance of fancy and casual, priced to make a nice impression without breaking the bank.
Canton Square in 1995 was a different place, and Looney acknowledges that at least some of the restaurant's dependable suburban client base has been less inclined over the years to "brave the parking and the meatheads that populate the square."
Looney says that after the sale goes through, he and Scherer will be catering and consulting as they work on "distilling and condensing our talents into a new, smaller restaurant and location. We won't be gone too long."
Helen's Garden is at 2908 O'Donnell St., in Canton. Call 410-276-2233 for information and reservations (which are recommended).
Lunch at Dogwood In Hampden, Dogwood is now serving lunch in its dining room. For many, the first introduction to Dogwood was its original lunch-only counter operation, and the addition of lunch service will reunite them with their favorite smoothie, salad, or Galen Sampson sandwich, like the Rachel, the beef & blue or the chicken, apple and brie.
The news about Dogwood's lunch service arrived in an e-mailed press release from co-owner Bridget Sampson that also announced a new catering partnership with Jean Wade-Mayer and Emily Villareal. These changes, Sampson noted, "are both integral to the success of our apprenticeship program, as they offer entry level jobs to our employees in transition."
Dogwood, 911 W. 36th St., will serve lunch 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Call 410-889-0952.
Brique business And in Queen Anne's County, a new restaurant named brique opened over the July Fourth weekend in Centreville, the county seat. The classically trained chef is New England native William Dolan, whose signature dishes include the pork rillette Le Mans, a dish native to the Pays de La Loire region consisting of seasoned pork belly and shoulder confit, which Dolan learned to cook from Jacques Pepin. I'm in.
Other items on what looks emphatically like a "yes, it's rich French food, get over it" menu are foie gras, crab and crawfish pate, braised short ribs, and an especially intriguing broiled bay bluefish. Entree prices are in the high teens and low 20s, but the range and appealing variety of appetizers, small plates, and "table starters" (three separate categories) suggests an ultimately expensive evening for the kind of reckless diner who can't resist a chicken liver and truffle mousse or crispy sweetbreads. The menu, which you can view at capitalculinaire.com is a wower.
Brique is open for dinner only, with breakfast and lunch service coming soon. The restaurant is at 122 Centre St. in Centreville. The restaurant's main phone number is 443-262-8070.