The new Fells Point restaurant Mare Nostrum is one of the nicest surprises in years. Arriving without publicity, the restaurant serves simple and wonderfully delicious food in a serene and comfortable setting.
The pleasures of a meal at Mare Nostrum are direct and uncomplicated. The only tricky thing is the restaurant's name. Mare nostrum is Latin for "our sea," and what the ancient Romans called the Mediterranean. The staff pronounces the first word as "ma-ray," but almost any two-syllable attempt will do.
Murat Mercan and Merter Akbay, the Turkish natives who own Mare Nostrum, want to show diners that seafood is as essential to Turkish cuisine as grilled meats and savory dips. The restaurant's location, in Baltimore's historic waterfront neighborhood, is meant to reinforce the association with the sea, Mercan told me.
The restaurant is charming. The dark wood and stucco walls are minimally adorned. The furniture is simple and elegant; most of the seating is at marble-topped tables. There is a bit of dazzle. At the back wall is a mesmerizing window display, an optical illusion of endless candles created with double mirrors.
The space, formerly a sub shop, feels personal. The marble table tops were fashioned by Akbay, as were the marble shelves for the cart that holds Mare Nostrum's selection of cold appetizers, or mezze.
The cart, which gets my vote as the best conveyance in a Baltimore restaurant, holds one or two plates of each of the 20-some cold mezze selections listed on the menu. The plates are served directly from the cart, as they are in dim sum service, and constantly replenished. They're all so tempting, it makes choosing hard.
Start with saksuka, a sauteed medley of crispy fried eggplant slices, peppers and tomatoes. Or the mucver, a light and crispy Turkish fritter made with shredded zucchini and carrots, seasoned with dill and topped with homemade yogurt.
Among the cold plates are such familiar dips, or spreads, as hummus and baba ghanoush, but try something new, like the muamara, a piquant dip made from red peppers, olive oil and ground walnuts. And that hot pink number? It's a yogurt dip with the wonderful name of pink sultan. It's made from beets, which is what you'd expect, and a healthy dose of garlic, which you might not by just looking at it. And it's heavenly.
There is a comparatively smaller selection of hot appetizers. Among them are Alexandros garides, firm and fresh-tasting shrimp sauteed with capers, onions and feta cheese. Artichoke hearts are formed into tender cups stuffed with diced carrots and snow peas. And, essentially, there is manti, the classic Turkish beef ravioli, which is served with yogurt and a drizzle of red pepper oil.
The entrees are variations on the kebab —spelled "kebap" here — which are sometimes, but not always skewered meats. For our choice, we took the suggestion of our endlessly patient and cordial waitress, and went with adana kebap, a long, thin roll of ground lamb, seasoned with cumin and hot pepper. Mare Nostrum charcoal grills all of its meats, and does it with precision; the kebap was a hearty and savory pleasure. Lamb chops, served with grilled tomatoes and peppers, were tender, juicy and exceptionally flavorful, with that just-so encrusting that we want in good lamp chops.
We tried the bronzini, dressed simply with lemon, tomato and arugula. The fish, which was filleted at the table, yielded deliciously sweet pieces of firm meat.
The dessert selection is limited to three items, but they are all you'd ever want. Firinda sutlac is a very creamy variation on rice pudding. The kadayif, similar to the classic Greek dessert kataifi, is honey-soaked shredded wheat pastry with the addition of pistachio. The best is the kunefe, a variation on the kadayif, but served hot with a layering of cheese.
Mare Nostrum does not have a license to serve alcohol. Nor does it have a formal BYOB policy, and it won't uncork your wine; however, you may bring some. You can get glasses of strong tea to accompany your main course, and, during dessert, there is strong Turkish coffee.
Mare Nostrum had a room full of happy diners when we visited on a Friday night. One table had ordered the mix grill plank, a three-foot long board bearing four meat selections and five cold mezze. It's the kind of presentation that turns heads.
Mare Nostrum
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Where: 716 S. Broadway, Fells Point
Contact: 410-327-6173, marenostrumbaltimore.com
Open: Sundays through Thursdays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Prices: Appetizers $4 to $14; entrees $18 to $22
Food: Mediterranean seafood, meats and appetizers
Service: Very friendly, informative and helpful
Parking: Parking is on street at meters
Noise level/televisions: Normal conversation is fine even with a full dining room
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