B & O Brasserie

In case you haven't heard, my fiance passed his certified personal trainer test last week and we couldn't be more proud and excited for him! To celebrate we took him out to dinner at the B&O Brasserie at the Hotel Monaco downtown, the site of the original B&O Railroad headquarters. Being the huge train fan that he is, this was the perfect place. It's also yet another restaurant I pulled off the list that I have from Sun magazine.

We've been getting really lucky lately with going to places with either free or inexpensive valet. This makes going into the city so much less stressful. B&O offers valet parking for only $5.

We entered the restaurant from the hotel lobby, a marble masterpiece with soaring ceilings and classic decor. The restaurant is no different, done in beautiful browns and reds with railroad maps on the wall and the comfiest leather chairs I have ever sat in. It almost has a lounge vibe.

Dinner started with drinks, wine for my mom and I, draft beer for my dad, and an old-fashioned for Justin, a fitting drink for the theme. He said it was one of the best he's had.

For appetizers we chose the Red Eye Riblettes, coffee brined with bourbon BBQ sauce and a fall fruit kimchee, and the Cheddar and Milk Stout Fondue, served with Kennebec potato chips. The riblettes come with four, the perfect size for our group, and were tender and paired well with the slight spice from the kimchee. The fondue was delicious and topped with chives. You could definitely taste the stout but it wasn't overpowering. We depleted the chips before the dip which was sad.

B&O has a very meat heavy menu with a few somewhat exotic options, which Justin loved. He tried the special, wild boar sausage served with whole grain mustard and mashed sweet potatoes. After trying a bite of his wild boar I realized how good it is! It tastes like pork but slightly sweeter.

My mom and dad both had the Short Rib Pot Roast, served with buttermilk mashed potatoes, roasted roots, natural jus, and crispy onion straws. Ladies and gentleman, this is the second time recently that we've taken my dad to a place outside of his comfort zone and he completely cleared his plate. My mom followed suit. I had a bite of my mom's and thought the meat was tender and I loved it with the smooth texture of the potatoes and the crunch of the onion straws.

I've been on a vegetarian dish kick lately (don't worry you'll never be able to get me to stop eating meat!) and was intrigued by the Potato Leek Pancake, served with roasted maitake, apple-herb salad, and a charred leek crema. The potato was crispy like a large latke and I couldn't get enough of the mushrooms and the sauce! Justin said he wished he ordered dishes without meat because it was so good, but for now he'll just continue to pick off my plate.

We glanced over the dessert menu but decided to be good since this was the night before Thanksgiving. This place got a huge thumbs up from all of us and is definitely going on the long roster of places to go back to.