Woodfire is the most recent addition to a group of restaurants from the management company that gave us Gary's Grill and the Main Ingredient. It smells like its name, but the food only rarely tastes that way.
Woodfire opened in March last year in a corner in Park Plaza that has seen the Big Tomato and the Italian Oven pass through in the past several years.
My husband and I tried it one afternoon for lunch, and though we liked the wood aroma, enjoyed the classic decor and loved the food, I kept asking myself, why wood?
The food didn't provide answers.
We started with a personal pan pizza ($6.95) that was loaded with cheese and wonderfully salty bacon. For all the hoopla about the 1,000-degree oven, you would expect a crispy, toasted crust with a smoky flavor. But we got one that was no better or worse than any baked in a 450-degree gas oven. It did come, however, with a little cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Nice touch.
I tried the Monte Cristo sandwich ($7.95), which was loaded with folded-over slices of smoked ham, battered and fried, then teased with a raspberry currant dressing on top. It was served with a side of coleslaw. The sandwich was a yummy combination of sweet and salty, but the coleslaw -- though fresh and crispy -- was bland, despite the deliberate dose of celery seeds.
My husband tried the chicken club sandwich ($6.95) with a generous side of shoestring fries. The sandwich came smothered in caramelized onions and barbecue sauce -- a good combination in his estimation. It was a big helping -- definitely a two-hander full of tasty chicken -- but again, the smoke flavor didn't live up to expectations.
A definite highlight of the trip was Woodfire's dessert display. It does not rival its sister restaurant Gary's in the number of items, but it matches its quality.
The mousse cake ($3.95) has an Oreo cookie crust encasing the richest, thickest, most chocolatey mousse ever. It comes on a plate swirled with raspberry sauce, topped with homemade whipped cream (not what you'd expect from a restaurant with the words wood, fire, or grill in its name) and more chocolate. It tasted even better than it looked.
My husband sampled the Bavarian apple cheesecake ($4.95), presented with more whipped cream, sprinkles of cinnamon and swirls of raspberry sauce, both of which turned out to be an excellent complement.
All this, plus an iced tea, a soft drink and a tip came to $40 and change. Not exactly what I'd want to pay for lunch every day, but reasonable when you consider how full we were and the tasty remains we took in doggie bags.
Woodfire
Where: 580 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park, 410-315-8100
Hours: Mondays through Thursday 11: 30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11: 30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 11: 30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Prices: Appetizers, $5.95-$9.50; entrees, $14.95-$22.95
Credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Diners Club
Rating: ** 1/2
Ratings: * culinary wasteland **** culinary heaven
Pub Date: 3/18/99