Overall Review:
Pacific Coast Dining Company is situated on a busy corner in
the heart of Baltimore’s Little Italy.
This quaint restaurant looks unassuming from the outside, but don’t let
that fool you. There is much culinary pleasure
to be found on the inside. The main
dining room is small but not too crowded.
A huge bar is the focal point of the restaurant, while a huge bay window
that takes up one wall brings brightness and character. The food is utterly surprising. Bold, spicy and memorable are just a few
adjectives to describe our meal. This
menu boasts many options, at least one of which should satisfy any patron. As soon as you walk into the restaurant the
wondrous smells punch you in the nose. One
of the unique features of this restaurant is that Chef Bruno takes care to
awaken your pallet with his appetizers and them calms it with his entrees. This would be a great first date spot, as
well as a great place to hang out with friends.
They do not have valet parking but there is street and garage
parking. Overall we give Pacific Coast
Dining Company ♪♪♪
and a half note.
Let’s dive into the food:
Ahi Tuna Sashimi:
This is a perfect example of the chef’s desire to blend
Italian and Asian. His mixture of pasta
noodles and Ahi with sauce was eclectic and fun. Sweet Thai chili sauce and wasabi is a perfect
marriage. The tuna in this dish was not
as fresh as the other seafood and it did need a little special loving.
Fire Cracker Shrimp:
This signature creation utilized spices so complex they kept
evolving in your mouth. Each jumbo
shrimp was resting on thin slices of perfectly crusty crostini, then topped
with the most sublime sweet and savory tomato sauce you have ever had. Be forewarned this is one messy dish that
will leave you licking your fingers long after the shrimp are gone.
BBQ Scallop Bacon Skewer:
The citrus based BBQ sauce covered plump, moist and
flavorful scallops that were cooked to perfection. The chef had the nerve to create this super
soft yet crispy wonton to rest his scallops on.
These wontons were we so light and airy and perfectly matched the
softness of the scallops.
Saffron Crab Risotto:
This talented Sicilian cooked the risotto to perfection. It tasted and smelled of the ocean. It was light, flavorful and plentiful. There was an ample amount of crab proving
that the chef does not skimp on the ingredients.
Cashew Encrusted Seared Salmon:
The chef used wild caught salmon which had a super robust
flavor. Wasabi and cashews encrusted the
fish and complimented it rather than overpowering it. The not too sweet beurre blanc sauce was
savory and complimented the fish well. The
accompaniments to this dish were herbed potato wedges and fried zucchini, both
of which were delicious.
Tiramisu:
Definitely not your typical tiramisu, instead of being presented
in a glass or layered on your plate, this dessert was presented in a role. The mascarpone cheese filling was out of this
world and the caramel was insane. This dish
is made fresh in house and is a must try.
902 Eastern
Ave
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 244-1185
Pacific Coast Dining Company was a pleasant and refreshing surprise. I was not sure a restaurant in Little Italy
could successfully pull off an authentic Italian meal with an Asian flair. This chef proved me wrong. With each dish that came to the table, my
smile grew bigger and bigger. After much
questioning, Angela and I found out that the chef is from Sicily. Sicilian cooking (at least according to this
chef) is quite different than mainland Italian cooking. The chef’s heavy hand with flavors proved extraordinary. Each bite of food felt like the first; spices
exploded on the tongue in crescendos. I found myself repeating again and again “How
did he do this?” Some of the flavors were
so complex I could not figure out how he did it. For those of you that know me well, I am
really good at tasting a bite of food and telling you every ingredient/spice that’s
in the dish. This chef left me guessing.
There is nothing more exciting to a
foodie than a meal that engages your taste buds and your mind. This was a true food adventure, full of
mystery, drama and intrigue. I enjoyed
the décor of the restaurant as well. The
vivid blues definitely gave the feel of being near the water. The huge wall of windows looking out onto the
street was reminiscent of a small café on the streets of Italy. Our waitress was amazing. She let us know that she had only been
working at the restaurant for a month, however her knowledge of the menu and
her table side sophistication made her seem like a pro. Overall I give Pacific Coast Dining Company ♪♪♪ and a half note.
Angela's Review:
Pacific Coast Dining Company was frankly an unexpected but
quite welcome treat. I didn’t expect the food and service to be as good as it
was, and that was on a weekday night with one waitress and one bartender on
duty and quite a few patrons waiting (or perhaps I should say, not waiting:) to
be served. It had the feel of a neighborhood hangout, perhaps even one in some
little town or even big city in Italy, instead of just being in Little Italy.
We sat at a table situated underneath a bay window that comprises the whole
front of the restaurant. It has a really authentic atmosphere. One of the
things I have discovered in the last few years of eating out and from actually
having spent some time in Italy, both in college, and since, on a trip with
friends, is that while I have always thought I was not a great fan of Italian
food, I am actually quite fond of Italian food, as long as it is the authentic,
regional sort, and not the heavy, weighted down Americanized version. The food
here was phenomenal. The chef is from Sicily, which, for me, explains
everything. Pacific Coast Dining Company has made its way onto my list as my 2nd
favorite Italian restaurant in town (not that I have eaten at that many, but
the food was really good.) Over the week since we ate there, I have had
flashbacks of the firecracker shrimp. It was, “Oh hurt me baby good.” I would
definitely recommend giving this place a try. I give it ♪♪♪ and a half note.
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