Some things get better with age. Beef is one of them. McCafferty's is another.
When the Mount Washington restaurant opened almost a decade ago, it was pretty much a local version of the popular steakhouse chains like Shula's, Morton's and Ruth's Chris. The beef was superb, but that was about it. This is still how a lot of Baltimoreans think of McCafferty's; but in the late '90s, the restaurant ventured into uncharted territory. Under a new chef, the menu expanded to include dishes like sauteed triggerfish in lemon creme fraiche -- with mixed results. Beef was still the safest choice.
Since then, though, McCafferty's has found a middle ground. The menu is a little less ambitious than when I was last there in '98, but it still has plenty of pizazz. Take the rainbow trout fillet, pan-fried to a delicate gold. It lay in an alluring sauce made edgy with mustard. The flavors were sharpened by a chilly spoonful of tomato salsa; and the accompanying vegetable, buttery green beans, added a splash of color to the plate.
First courses find that balance of being intriguing without trying too hard. Dewy fresh scallops swam in a buttery, lemony, garlicky liquid good enough to eat with a spoon. Bits of bacon and Parmesan cheese added depth. Rosy rare slices of duck breast were handled with restraint. Their piquant bit of plum sauce with slivers of ginger was just sweet enough -- not so sweet that it was an appetite killer.
A gentle, cream-laden chowder keeps you coming back for more, with its Eastern Shore ingredients of corn and lump crab. And even though the pear and blue cheese salad was overdressed and the chopped winter tomatoes were out of their league, the excellent greens and just-ripe slices of pear carried it through.
A traditional osso buco sauce turns up twice on the menu -- not, oddly enough, on what you'd expect (veal shank) but on chicken scaloppine and a handsome veal chop. We didn't try the chicken, but the grilled veal chop was fine enough to stand on its own. The tomato-based sauce seemed extraneous.
In other words, this time around McCafferty's beef didn't outshine everything else, although it's still worth its hefty price tag. The kitchen knows to back off and let the well-marbled, slightly charred meat with its rosy center speak for itself. Neither the prime rib nor the New York strip is oversalted or otherwise overseasoned, and it's dressed only with freshly grated horseradish.
You almost have to get an a la carte potato with the beef. The waitress recommends the homey mashed potatoes scented with garlic, and she's right. There are also baked potatoes, fries and gorgonzola scalloped potatoes. I would have ordered the scalloped ones except that she warned us they don't always get baked through and through. The a la carte vegetables are asparagus and creamed spinach, but we didn't indulge because a green vegetable comes with entrees.
Desserts aren't the restaurant's forte. They look oddly amateur, not something a pastry chef would produce. That's fine, even endearing, if they're terrific; but a chocolate mousse pie was uninteresting and the key lime pie tasted like something you might make with condensed milk and bottled lime juice. They and their plates were sprinkled with powdered sugar, which didn't improve their looks. Praline bread pudding had been baked too long, so it was a little dry; and berries with a too thin creme anglaise had an extraneous swirl of whipped cream on top.
No matter. The rest of the meal made us happy and the desserts weren't dreadful, just not worth saving a lot of room for.
McCafferty's is owned by Don and Bill McCafferty, sons of the late Don McCafferty, the former head coach of the Baltimore Colts. This time of year the restaurant, which normally has a manly look because of its sports memorabilia and celebrity caricatures that line the walls, is softened by seasonal decorations. McCafferty's has always been a comfortable restaurant; during the holidays it's even more appealing. Live music in the bar four nights a week adds to the pleasure of dinner here.
The service was uneven on my two recent visits. Our two young waitresses were warm, engaging and not quite on top of their game. One was clearly overworked; the other just wasn't as polished as you'd expect at a place where you're likely to spend $50 a person. She reached over one of us, for instance, to serve the other. Interestingly, the busboy knew better. When he came to fill water glasses he was careful to reach behind, even though it wasn't easy because we were tucked away in a corner.
McCafferty's
Food: ***
Service: ** 1/2
Atmosphere: ***
Where: 1501 Sulgrave Ave., Mount Washington Hours: Lunch Monday through Friday, dinner nightly
Prices: Appetizers, $6.75-$9.95; main courses, $13.95-$28.95
Call: 410-664-2200
Outstanding: ****; Good: ***H; Fair or uneven: **; Poor: *H