Nido's: Downtown Italian Dining

 
     Like most Americans, I have been to very many Italian restaurants over the course of my life.  Sadly, none of them have actually been in Italy, but I'm familiar enough with the genre to know what I like and what to expect from the ones that really have their act together.  Nido's Little Italy Ristorante on Patrick St. definitely hits the mark.  In fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to call it my favorite.
     When searching for ethnic food options, I am particularly drawn to those establishments that have taken thematic ownership of the entire space, inside and out, which isn't always an easy thing to do in an historic district. This is far from a bad thing, but most of the buildings on East Patrick St. are of the uniform nineteenth-century red-brick townhouse style that defines downtown Frederick so well, but Nido's, which I'm sure used to look the same as the rest, immediately stands out to the casual passerby.  With sheer white brick, red and green trim, an enormous picture window and awnings that jet out over the sidewalk, one might wonder if the fabric of time and space are not quite in working order, as there seems to be a window to Italy sitting right in the middle of Frederick.

 
     The inside is no less impressive.  Maybe this is strange, but I think the first thing I noticed was the rough brick floor.  It reminded me of the old streets of Annapolis that have been trodden down by bustling activity for centuries.  It were as if they hadn't just laid a brick floor, but rather built the restaurant around an old city street.  It makes me feel like I'm literally setting foot into another world.
     Whatever the interior structure of this building used to be, it's now impossible to tell, as Roman arch-ways are punched into the walls.  Some of them form little windows, like one with a miniature Venus de Milo sitting in it.  A network of trellises covered in hanging grape-vines adorn the ceilings while black and white photos and drawings of Rome dot the walls.  If you are really lucky, you will be seated in the room with the large pictures window so you can gaze out at the city buzz.  Throw in the Italian music always playing in the background, and I am fully into this dining experience way before the food even arrives.
     Absolutely everything on the menu looks good, and if it weren't for my friend Sasha highly recommending the spaghetti in marinara sauce, I would have been forever in placing my order.  Fortunately, the waiting staff there is so gracious and friendly that I'm sure I could have taken as long as I wanted.
     The meal, of course, was amazing.  The marinara sauce is so much more tangy and savory than ordinary tomato sauce to the point that I prefer it even to spaghetti with meatballs.  I was eating it so quickly that I managed to accidentally flick some sauce onto my shirt.  It left me so good and full after my weekend of hard labor that I only had room for a cup of tea for dessert.  There is always room for tea.
     I can't wait until the period of my vegan diet ends so I can return and try a lot more of the menu, especially the lasagna and the cannoli.  I have never actually tried a cannoli before, but everything about Nido's is so well put together that I trust them to make the best example of this treat to be found anywhere.
     So now I suppose the conclusion is obvious and hardly need be said, but if you are in the area and crave a perfect dining experience, by all means please stop in Nido's.  You can't miss it!

111 East Patrick Street
Frederick, MD 21701-5677
(301) 624-1052
http://nidosrestaurant.com

Thai fun!

    When I heard that a new Thai food place was coming to Frederick, I knew that I would just have to try it because I'm a huge fan of Asian food generally and I never turn down an opportunity to make a fool of myself trying to use chop sticks.  But at the same time, I kept putting off the visit because for me to really enjoy this particular restaurant, I knew that it would have to overcome a totally unfair prejudice on my part.  Namely, Sumittra Thai Cuisine now occupies the space of the former Proof Café, which I still mourn every time I walk past their Patrick St. building.  I knew that this restaurant would have to really knock it out of the park to distract me from visions of sipping hot cocoa in that same space not so long ago, and I am happy to report that Sumittra more than lived up to my unreasonable and ridiculous expectations.
     The first thing I noticed was that they really made the space their own, which actually lessened my mind's desire to wander back to memories of the former occupant.  A graphic paint scheme of strong yellow, sheer white and pitch black blended really well with the unchanged ancient brick and wood of this former 18th-century hardware store.  Having removed the old Proof counter, there was much more space in there than I had realized - enough that they were able to add an architecturally interesting dividing wall to the middle of the room while still providing ample table space.
     Just looking at the menu was actually an enormous treat for me.  I've been on a self-imposed vegan kick for about a month now, and restaurant dinning almost always means resorting to pasta or salad with explicit instructions to the waiter to refrain from adding any dairy products.  I was so happy (you have no idea...) to find an entire two pages of almost entirely vegan options that I just kind of sat and stared longingly at them for a while.  With the exception of an occasional egg thrown into the mix, all of the spicy sauces that really define Thai dinning are plant-based.  Normally the sauce is mixed in with veggies and poured over rice and a meat option, but Sumittra offers tofu as a substitute to any of the meats, meaning that I had access to nearly their entire regular menu!
     I started off with an appetizer of crispy tofu, which is a plate of really big squares of fried tofu that are almost like little biscuits or cakes served with an interesting nut-flavored dipping sauce.  I really liked the squares because not only were they delicious, their size was conducive toward easy chop-stick manipulation, and I can always use as much practice as possible before getting to the rice.
     For my entrée, I ordered the tofu ka-prow, which primarily consists of tofu and rice covered in a sauce made from basil and chili powder.  I was impressed by how they were able to use tofu in such diverse ways that I couldn't even recognize it from one dish to the next.  When my ka-prow was brought to me, the tofu looked so much like chicken that I was worried they had mixed up my order with another customer's.  The tofu absorbed the surrounding flavors so well that I might even occasionally order this dish after the period of my vegan diet ends.  I should probably warn you, though, that I have been told my tolerance of spicy foods exceeds that of normal people, and this item was listed in the hottest category on the menu.  I also really appreciated that the meal was served in a long rectangular dish because it allowed me to get a little strafing run when I went to scoop up the rice with my chop sticks, like a pelican diving for a fish.
     My friend, Sasha, ordered chicken cashew nut, which she says is a really good neutral dish for a standard American pallet: absent the spice, but full of flavor diversity.
     I was really full from the richness of the meal, so I skipped dessert, but Sasha ordered a tall cup of raspberry ice cream and ate it right in front of me.  Based on her facial expressions as she taunted me, I surmised that she found the dish more than acceptable.
     I will always miss Proof, but if something else had to occupy that space, I'm really glad that it's Sumittra.  Frederick was in need of another Thai restaurant to fill the void left when the amazing Captain Kyoto's was replaced by the equally amazing Quynn's Attic a few years ago.  It should be noted that Quynn's Attic occupies the top floors of the building that Sumittra is now in, so it seems fitting that a wonderful Thai restaurant should replace a wonderful American café in that particular location.

Sasha's Corner
Hear my friend Sasha give her take on the Thai experience.

Sumittra Thai Cuisine
12 East Patrick St.
Frederick, MD 21701
(301) 668-2303